Muscle Memory
by Microwave-san
Summary: Shion Koyama attempts to deal with Hero-wannabes, Villain parents, OP siblings and the bottomless pit she calls a stomach.
1. Shion Koyama vs her Interfering Mother

Obligatory Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Shion and the Koyama family are my creations, however, so please don't copy.

Foreword:

First chapter will be more family-centric because I want to make Shion as realistic as possible, which includes having her own family and the issuing relationships between them. If you're looking for an OC x whoever story, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that (the vast majority of my favourite stories on this site are under that umbrella) but this fic will probably disappoint. I wanted to focus more on the world of Hero Academia, and how it'd affect people having such a Hero-based society growing up as a teenager (I've got no idea if I achieved that, I'll let you be the judge).

 _Just_ before I stop bothering you fine people and let you get on with it, I'm writing this for fun and don't expect a lot of interest (though interest would be very welcome), so I won't make any guarantees about update times that I can't keep. Thank you for reading!

Warning:

Just as a heads-up, there's some language (couple of F-Bombs are dropped in later chapters) and violence in this fic.

Update:

Now Beta'd by the wonderful Company Cod! Thank you so much for taking the time out your day to go through this with me!

* * *

 **1: Shion Koyama vs. her Interfering Mother**

 **.**

" **She's a violent midget in cosplay."**

 **\- Shion Koyama**

"I'm just saying, there's no Villains Academy, y'know? And going would give you a chance to scope out all the future heroes, their powers and tactics and stuff. Plus, all the _proper_ training you'd probably rack up there."

There was no reply from the kitchen, where her mother was currently bustling around for reasons beyond Shion's understanding. She couldn't have been cooking - Koyama Hanako would probably think you were attempting a robbery if you brandished a can-opener at her.

A lack of an active audience didn't particularly bother Shion, as she eased into both the subject and the sofa cushions. By this point she was just rambling for the sake of it anyway.

"Can't believe no one's thought of it before. Unless they've got some kind of tests or something. Like a, er, what's the word -background check. But that'd probably count as discrimination, right? If they rejected you for a history of family villainy, it'd be like kicking you out for a history of family alcoholism."

On the TV one of those shopping channels her mother (inexplicably) enjoyed blared with all enthusiasm of an oncoming train wreck. A flock of plastic-faced women were trying to flog some sort of rejuvenating creams made from bumble-bee ass and cactus oils, their voices increasingly desperate. She debated changing the channel, but that would require moving and Shion wasn't entirely sure she was ready for that level of commitment just yet.

"I'm just saying if you were seriously thinking of going into Villainy _professionally,_ it'd probably give you an edge, y'know. Well, more of an edge than learning Home Economics or something at a normal High School. Unless you're going to specialise in Home Economics Villainy, I guess, but the Vacuum-inator doesn't really strike fear into the hearts of your enemy."

Her little sister, Kiku, chose that moment to wander in and, without preamble, threw herself onto her older sister's outstretched stomach. Said older sister grunted but didn't otherwise react. She'd long ago become accustomed to the ten-year-old's casual sadism.

"Kiku, pass me the remote," Shion muttered, a bit more breathlessly than before considering.

Kiku rooted around the side of the sofa. When she finally found it (pocketing whatever lose change she found first), Shion waggled a hand but Kiku's grip only tightened, flipping through the channels herself before settling on a documentary about Komodo Dragons. Which made sense, she could probably empathise with the cold-blooded predators. Only when she had made herself further comfortable on Shion's stomach did Kiku deign to type up her reply on the portable Tablet. With her Voice Augmentation Quirk still about as focused as a drug-addled monkey at a rave, Kiku had been regulated to a speech aided communication system after she'd managed to scream the third floor of her primary school down. Literally.

" **Go die.** "

The best tactic was to fight aggression with affection. Shion knew that if there was one thing that embarrassed Kiku, it was the fact they were related.

"Aww, _Kiku-chan!_ I _knew_ you loved me," she reached out a hand to lazily pat at Kiku's head, and immediately ended up getting smacked in the shoulder courtesy of the (unwilling) recipient of her affections. So vehement was Kiku's slap that it somehow knocked her older sister's hand off course and up the ten-year-old's nose instead.

Kiku batted her hand away furiously, and Shion chuckled. Irritating her little sister was far more entertaining than any nature documentary. After half-heartedly trying to roll the stone-faced ten-year-old off for a couple of minutes, she decided to step up her game and managed to pull a leg free before shoving her foot under Kiku's nose.

"C'mon, Kiku, rub Nee-san's bunions~"

" **Eww, you troll.** "

Shion chuckled, marvelling at how pruned they were even though she'd stepped out the shower a good ten minutes ago.

"They look like E.T.'s ballsa-"

"Shion-chan!"

At the sound of Hanako's excited yelp, Shion moved faster than she had in the past three hours. Probably three days, if she were honest. Kiku was sent flying into the Kotatsu as she bolted upright, stammering denials already crouched on her tongue.

Her mother hurtled into the living room in a cloud of overpowering perfume, looking very much like an overexcited marshmallow. Even with rollers in her pink hair and a baggy tracksuit on, Hanako's 'casual' wear most likely cost more than other people's entire wardrobes (though expense didn't necessarily equate taste). It was diamante phone case glamour, it was grocery shopping with a face full of makeup glamour, it was garish ornaments and fur rugs and western style bathrooms in lime green glamour. But it was glamour, nonetheless, and Hanako had never failed to 'casually' drop how much she'd paid for everything in conversation.

"Repeat what you just said!"

Shion blinked. Her buttocks gradually unclenched as it became apparent that she wasn't about to be suplexed through the Kotatsu. Kiku's expression soured for the same reasons.

"E.T.'s…ballsack?"

"What? No!"

"Ah, good," Shion nodded to herself and smiled. "U _nless_ you're up for a game of 'guess the puppet genitalia'? It's fun for the whole family-"

"Shion, concentrate! I _meant_ the stuff about the Hero Academy," she encouraged somewhat manically.

"Oh! Right, yeah, I was just saying-"

Apparently she's going too slowly for her mother, which wasn't much of a deviation from the norm since some Rocket-Propelled Grenades probably moved too slowly for her mother's tastes. Most of Hanako's conversations were predictably one-sided. Shion usually made a perfunctory effort to get a word in here or there, for appearance's sakes if nothing else, but all resistance eventually proved futile.

"Going to the Academy _would_ be the perfect opportunity to –what was the term you used?"

Shion opened her mouth, then closed it again with a huffed laugh as her mother bulldozed impatiently onwards regardless.

"'Scope out the future Heroes', learn their tactics, their powers, _everything._ If you played your cards right, that's years of insider information that other Villains would die for. Most of the teachers are _actual_ Heroes too! And the access to training facilities and equipment will definitely give you an edge–yes, yes, it's perfect!" Hanako clapped her hands, clearly pleased with herself, and smiled at her daughter expectantly. "So, you'll do it then?"

Shion raised a brow. That smile looked ominous.

"I'm probably gonna regret asking…but do what?"

Kiku snorted. Shion nudged her back onto the Kotatsu with a pruned toe and blinked innocently when she shot her a glare.

"Oh, do keep _up_ , Shion-chan," Hanako sighed affectionately, smoothing at her hair as if she were an adorable but particularly dim pet. "You'll apply for U.A!"

"What? _Me?"_ Shion blinked, her brain stuttering into alert mode.

"Well, who else would I be talking about? Of course you!" Hanako huffed with a petulant pout. "…It's a good idea."

"Yeah, but I wasn't seriously _suggesting_ that someone do it, y'know? Especially not me. Can't someone else do it? What about Kiku?" Shion waved an arm at the little girl in question. "I know she's about 3cm tall and useless, but they could _flick_ her at the enemy or something."

" **Asshole**."

"Don't swear, Kiku-chan."

" **Sorry, mama.** "

"And she's ten! She's not old enough to apply," Hanako reprimanded, though she was simultaneously eyeing the girl up like the suggestion had _some_ merit. As a backup plan, if nothing else.

"She's not a _ten-year-old_ ," Shion scoffed, "she's a violent midget in cosplay."

Hanako stared at her blandly for a moment, before her a heavily-ringed hand snaked out and swiped her up the back of the head. If she wasn't completely awake before, she _definitely_ was now.

" _Ow_ , Okaa-san! They aren't gonna let me in if my skull's flatter than a corkboard, y'know," Shion hissed.

Rebelliously, she wondered if her mother had curled her rollers too tight. The woman's brains were clearly leaking out her rear. It _had_ been her idea originally, but that wasn't really a glowing recommendation for its feasibility. Then again, expecting her adult parents to act like, well, _actual_ adults in most given situations should have registered as a waste of time by now.

Her mother, in particular, had always had a penchant for taking one of her ideas or requests and basically injecting it with a metric shit-ton of steroids. She could only hope that whatever mad scheme was currently cooking in Hanako's brain cooled by the time tomorrow came around.

"I mean, it's not like you had any sort of _plan,_ bar the obvious family business, anyway," Hanako continued, dauntless in the face of her daughter's scrunched, confused expression. "You haven't even bothered looking at any of the brochures for the other High Schools _or_ studied, just lazed about the house for the past how many weeks."

"Heh, yeah."

"Don't look so proud!" Hanako's manicured hand slapped upside the back of Shion's blonde head again.

Kiku, still attempting to right herself, smirked triumphantly. Justice had been served. Yet by the time Shion registered the blow and shot an offended look at her wildly gesticulating mother, Hanako's mood had whip-lashed back into excitement again.

"So you'll do it then?"

"Are you going to keep pimp-slapping me if I refuse?"

"It's likely."

"And you're not gonna stop bugging me about it either, I suppose?"

Hanako's smirk was devious. "Most definitely. I'll sign you up then, shall I?"

Shion, who would do most things for an easy life, nodded distractedly. "Yeah, yeah."

And that, she hoped, was the end of it.

/-/-/

It was not the end of it.

The next day, her mother dragged her from her futon and slammed an application form in front of her barely-coherent daughter. Shion blearily filled it in, slumped back to bed and slept past her alarm. The next week, she was corralled into training with her mother and equally-badgered father, who was only vaguely more serious about the debacle than she was.

Training pretty much consisted of her and her father beating the living daylights out of each other in the reinforced garage until the cement cracked or Hanako stopped 'surveying' their progress and they could go back to their own devices (looking up obscure bands or watching idiots hurt themselves on YouTube). Considering that this was where the couple usually stored their loot, it was both nigh impenetrable and sound-proof enough to escape Hanako's busybodying.

Her father, Koyama Hiroki, had even managed to smuggle down some posters, a handful of office fans and a few beanbags in what he called 'funky colours' (funky colours apparently consisted of tie-dye and neon polka-dots), in an attempt to make the bare concrete cube look slightly more hospitable. She'd even heard him refer to it semi-seriously as a 'man cave' - which had been disturbing.

In comparison to her father's laidback approach, her mother had commandeered both Shion's physical and educational schooling with a ferocity usually reserved to street brawls and shopping sprees. At least she was frequently distracted. There were short but intense bursts of hovering over Shion when she was studying to pepper her with questions (most of which were irrelevant to the topic, anyway), or jogging in swanky tracksuits on strategically convenient routes to maximise neighbour envy. Shion spent much of it sneaking back into the house. Or sneaking sweets. Or just wandering off altogether.

Honestly though, Shion was enjoying taking advantage of her parents continued presence and attention too much to think about the _actual_ end-goal. Or to _let_ herself think about the actual end goal. They hadn't accepted or planned any new heists, even though she knew for a fact that their sticky fingers must have been getting itchy. Breakfast hadn't been shared with a hostage from a big city bank, nor was dinner interrupted by some overzealous Hero bursting from their kitchen cabinets. She'd even managed to relax her shoulders slightly when walking to and from school.

It wasn't anything new _exactly._ For a good portion of her life, her parents usually swung into and out of these phases (or 'went into family mode' as her older brother, Hiroto, called it) after a big job, when the threat of capture had sent them careening home like the entire Hero population was on their heels. Then they'd inevitably get bored, disappear for a few weeks and be straight back with presents and smiles and takeout menus and keys to a new house because it was imperative they move before the cops tracked them. Well, that, or they ended up in prison, as had been the case on one occasion that Shion was determinedly _not_ going to revisit.

There was no point getting angry about it, that's just who her parents were. And besides the routine hiccups, they weren't _bad_ parents by any stretch of the imagination. Everyone had their vices, and moping about like she was starring in an edgy music video just because her parents' particular vices involved criminal charges wouldn't _solve_ anything. So Shion usually just tried to savour it when she could and ignore the tight, little ball of dread fisting in her gut that told her it'd be all over again any day now. It worked for the most part, but this grace period was lasting far longer and that sickly feeling was growing more potent with every mention of her mother's plan.

A little strange, sure, but it didn't _mean_ anything. She was probably getting paranoid over nothing. Any day now, her mother would whip out a set of blueprints or her father would subtly (or what he thought was subtly) hint that he 'knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew a guy' and the world would right itself again.

Shion was still convinced this was another of her mother's flights of fancy right up until she received a letter inviting her to the U.A. Entrance Exam.

"Holy shit."

Hanako's head snapped up from where she was simultaneously painting her nails a hot pink and playing Go with Kiku on her tablet. "What? What, what, what, _what?"_

Clearly she knew what, or at least suspected, because her doughy face was alight with childish glee. She bustled over to where Shion was standing in the hall, bumping her daughter aside with her hips before tearing the letter away. It wasn't hard; Shion's grip had been so limp it was a wonder it hadn't blown away already.

Hanako squealed. _Actually_ squealed. And that was the moment that Shion knew the world had gone insane.

"Hiroki! Hiroki, get down here! You'll never believe it~" Hanako was already half-way up the stairs, brandishing the letter like an Olympic torch, formidable bust bouncing dangerously with every step.

Shion stared blankly at the ugly wallpaper ('Glamourous dream,' as it had been named in a horrendously misguided attempt at class, was a hellish combination of faded baby pink and craft store glitter glue).

 _Okay, so…this was actually happening._

She wasn't sure how she felt at that moment. Panic, beyond the fact that she _wasn't_ panicking when she should be, hadn't really registered. Why hadn't she applied for Fukuoka College of Health Sciences? It was local and the second best option for most of her peers. Sure, she wasn't actually interested in a career in the Health sector nor did she really have the grades since she'd been content to cruise through her education at a happy medium, but at least a nurse didn't have to constantly rub elbows with Hero wannabes. Instead she'd let herself be strong-armed into this because she didn't know what to do otherwise, and it'd got her mom and teachers off her back for the time being. She hadn't thought she'd actually have to _go through with it_.

Shion felt slightly like she'd been body-slammed. There was a disconnect. She _really was_ going to have to go through with this.

" **Nee-san, are you okay?"**

Shion blinked. Kiku was standing in the doorway leading into the main house, hands clasping the frame and tablet hugged to her chest. Because she was often scowling or looking bored, it was easy to forget how young and apple-cheeked her little sister was.

To Shion, Kiku was easily the cutest thing to ever threaten to murder her in her sleep (she was cute in other situations too, but in that category she was a resounding winner) but putting blatant bias aside, she wasn't traditionally the most adorable kid.

With baby-blue eyes, pastel pink hair (like Hanako) and a penchant for oversized clothing (unlike Hanako), Kiku had all the right criteria. But she had the Koyama eye shape, thin and sweeping upwards, and her teeth too squirrelly,with guppy lips like Shion. Much like Kiku herself, her hair was far too uncooperative despite the best efforts of a boyishly short style and a vast collection of barrettes and hats (today she was sporting a baseball cap with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks logo, probably stolen from their older brother). Kiku was a disjointed patchwork of soft and hard edges that, when not irritated, gave her an air of being in constant discomfort.

Shion exhaled explosively and forced a smile, something that became easier when Kiku's expression lifted from shy concern.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Shion flashed her a thumbs up and instantly felt like an idiot.

Kiku's prior shy concern instantly shifted into suspicion.

" **You're acting like a weirdo."**

"Weirdo? Bah!" Shion waved her off with exaggerated ease, barking a stilted laugh as she did so. "I'm just really pumped, y'know? About Hero… stuff. Like saving old ladies from trees and colour-scheming my pants to match my boots and stuff. I mean, I've been waiting my whole life to scream demented puns just before maiming people. So this is gonna be – wow! It's gonna be… gonna be…"

Kiku whistled once sharply, not enough to make anyone bleed from the ears, but just enough gain the attention of their parents as Shion spiralled into her wallpaper, returning to her fugue state.

" **Mama! I think you broke Nee-san.** "

/-/-/

Shit. The word Shion had been looking for was 'shit'.

It was gonna be shit.

That was the thought circling around Shion's head like a particularly persistent buzzard. She had hoped that escaping her parents' attentions (which had become oddly suffocating now that Shion was digesting her acceptance to U.A.) in the local arcade would sufficiently distract her. After all, there was no such thing as an _unhappy_ person at an arcade. Well, that had been Shion's belief prior to becoming an unhappy person at an arcade.

" **Nee-san, money."**

Kiku swatted her unresponsive sister hard enough that Shion blinked. The looping beeps and tinny musical notes registered, mirroring her own thoughts bouncing from one to the other to the other ad infinitum. Machines were packed shoulder to shoulder in unfocused bursts of flashing neon, bold primary colours and cutesy frills. Bar a huddle of young boys cheering and goading one another on at a boxing simulator further down, the arcade was surprisingly empty, reducing the expected claustrophobia to an almost uncomfortable degree. Much like theme parks, arcades were _meant_ to be busy; otherwise, they just looked a little sad.

The Koyama sisters had been there for the past two hours and Shion had hoped that the chaos would distract her. If anything, the wash of cartoon faces and impersonal linoleum flooring was making her feel more nauseous. Though she'd tried her best, hunkering down on a stool in the corner next to the machine Kiku was playing on, it was impossible to hide among all the bright lights and melted butter smell.

"Eh?" Shion removed one earbud, only now realising that she'd been so zoned out that she wasn't even aware of what song was blasting out the other.

" **Money,"** Kiku repeated and thrust out a hand for good measure.

"Tut, tut, tut. Where are your manners, Kiku-chan?" she was already reaching for her wallet, but felt the need to scold her for appearance's sake.

" **Up your ass,"** Kiku thrusted her hand out again. **"Money."**

"Brat," Shion huffed a laugh, lazily pushing against Kiku's forehead. "Can't you be nicer to your sister while she's in the midst of a mental breakdown, huh?"

Mental breakdown? Surely that wasn't what it was. Shion imagined that most mental breakdowns involved far more damage to public property, sobbing uncontrollably in crowded places and (if she were feeling feisty) poop flinging. Although the pit her stomach had been sinking into for the past weeks _did_ indicate that she wasn't at her best.

Of all the half-formed ramblings over the years, why did her mother have to latch onto _that_ one? This wasn't just a 'try and see how it goes' situation. This was her education, her future. Boxing herself into Heroics didn't really supply her with any applicable skills elsewhere, and what if she failed? Prospects for Hero dropouts were almost non-existent. And there _was_ a high chance that she would fail; her Quirk was up to standard, but Shion doubted they were grading on that alone. There was probably some 'strength of character' bullshit criteria that Shion (being an _impeccable_ example of moral fibre) had no hope of spotting, never mind actually _meeting._ She was so unbelievably screwed. There were crippled, gimp monkeys with better chances of passing than her.

Kiku swatted her again and Shion hissed in a breath, shooting the bland-faced girl a wounded look before depositing a fistful of Yen into her open palm.

What if she _passed?_ Despite the media's best efforts to convince the general public otherwise, Hero work was _not_ the most glamourous or easy of occupations. Shion knew the truth, had seen it first-hand. The majority of Heroes were called out to the kind of predictable fallout that came with a population that consisted of people who could literally melt things with their morning breath. Domestic disputes where a spouse had put the other one through a supporting wall of a high rise block of flats. Bullied kids who decided they'd had enough and tried to poison the entire student body. Rape via deception because someone thought they were spending a night with their lover and not a stranger that could morph into an exact replica. And that was only the cases where there was a clear guilty party.

She wasn't cut out for that. She wasn't ready to fish some kid out of a burning wreck because his father had had a bad day at work and decided to turn the living room into a lava pit. She wouldn't even know what to say. What did you _do_ in those kind of situations?

" **Nee-san."**

Shion blinked again, vaguely surprised that they were now outside. After exhausting either her patience or older sister's wallet, Kiku had led Shion out by the hand and Shion had unconsciously followed. Kiku glared apprehensively at the river of foot traffic lured out by the decrease in temperature. It was relatively cooler for Fukuoka, but that didn't mean much by normal standards. Shion could already feel the humidity wetting her vest top to her back. Endless blue, cloudless sky ran its fingertips over telephone wires. She swore she could feel the concrete cooking underneath her feet, undeterred by a mild salt breeze rolling out from the nearby sea.

That and the crowd, at least, felt slightly more stabilising. Unlike her little sister, Shion had always preferred city life. The energy and comfort of being among a million strangers, the undemanding company carrying on with their lives and own worries. No one liked being around a bored, lonely Shion – least of all Shion herself.

"Hm, yeah?"

Kiku tugged on her arm, and Shion obediently squatted down so her sister could scramble none-too-gently onto her shoulders. Shion tried not to wallow too much on how she'd been regulated to a ten-year-old's bank and beast of burden.

"Comfortable up there?" Shion questioned as she very carefully grasped Kiku's ankles. "Would milady prefer a cushion to protect her most royal ass?"

" **You're a royal ass."**

"A _Royal_ ass, you say?" Shion repeated with all the gravitas of a Shakespearean actor. "My lady does me an honour!"

They a veritable odd couple with Shion in her usual punk getup of ripped tights, chunky boots, choker and studded denim shorts, tucked into which was a frayed vest-top proclaiming some mildly offensive slur in (probably misspelled) English. Kiku's frilly summer dress speckled with daises and dandelions and peonies, matched with flip-flops and a wide sunhat was age appropriate at least, though it was somewhat off-kilter when the ten-year-old seemed determined to scowl at everyone and everything like a grumpy pensioner.

"Y'know you might be onto something there, Kiku-chan," Shion tilted her head back slightly, grinning. "What do you think, huh? Should I get name tags? 'Koyama Shion: Royal Ass'."

Kiku 'hmphed'. **"I wish I was an only child."**

" _If_ you were an only child, you'd have to walk around with your own tiny, tiny, teeny legs," Shion continued as they set off, Kiku's head swivelling about as she read the passing signs or stared at some strange looking pedestrian, "and then you'd have to fight off ants with little matchstick spears, and make some kind of grappling hook out a paperclip. It'd be adorable."

" **Don't patronise me."**

"But it _would_ be adorable!" Shion sniffed. "Most adorable _indeed,_ as decreed by the Royal Ass."

Instead of a verbal reply, Kiku settled for kicking her older sister in the armpit.

They weren't in the city proper, but the buildings were high and the foot traffic heavy enough that the distinction meant little to Kiku. She grew progressively unresponsive and clingier the thicker the crowds became. Shion left her to it (despite the visual obstruction the ten-year-old's sweaty palms were becoming); even if their earlier conversation had proved to be distracting enough to stop her thoughts, goading an already socially anxious Kiku wasn't worth the accompanying guilt. With nothing to divert her attention, Shion's thoughts snapped back to the subject of U.A. like a released elastic band.

For people who spent so much time exposed to the less savoury parts of society, she would have thought that they'd lean a little more towards subjective thinking. But no, it was all 'I'm good, you're bad' and 'smile for the camera while I put this guy through the grinder.' Indelicate black-and-white justice that ruined lives as often as it saved them, even with the established rules set down by the government. Shion shuddered to think what it had been like in the age of Vigilantes where even those stop gates weren't present – she, Kiku and Hiroto would probably have been orphans.

And if their lack of sensitivity towards situations that deserved it wasn't off-putting enough, it was their lack of sensitivity _afterwards_. Shion could remember her and Hiroto's infuriated ranting after Crimson Riot had paralyzed an arms dealer and replied to accusations of excess force with 'it was unfortunate, but he (the arms dealer) had to know what was going to happen when he lived a life of crime.' Like crime was something that would just go away if you punched it enough, and not a complex problem that had been plaguing humanity since there was a humanity _to_ plague.

Sometimes the criminals weren't even criminals in the traditional sense; sometimes they were people (like Kiku) who couldn't control or had been negatively affected by their Quirks. Of course, they caused situations that were dangerous, but was shooting heat-seeking lasers at a guy whose Self-Multiplication Quirk had suddenly given him extreme Schizophrenia honestly the best way to resolve the issue? Then said guy gets three years in Villain's Prison and a criminal record, effectively ostracising him from polite society and further exasperating a serious medical issue. Even if the criminal record didn't kill off all his future job prospects, the stigma alone would verify that the rest of his life was going to a hopeless, lonely mess. Because in a Hero's eyes, there'd be no difference between this man and some murdering asshole who just wanted to kill someone.

Heroes didn't want to fix crime. They didn't even want to understand it. Without Villains, there wouldn't _be_ any Heroes, so all they cared about was having someone to defeat and from what angle they looked best doing so. For the vast majority it was all about the funding, the public image – the _brand,_ not actually helping their community in any meaningful way. They should've had at least the dignity to be honest about their fame and financial motivations (the despised Villains were, after all), instead of crowing on about 'truth, beauty and justice.'

Becoming like them, growing up to be the boogeymen that had contaminated her and her siblings' childhoods with well-deserved paranoia, would be a hell Shion would rather not contemplate. Honestly, she'd rather use her Quirk to get one of those furniture removal jobs than for that – it'd be mind-numbingly boring and her mom would badger her relentlessly about wasting her 'talent', but at least she'd be able to recognise herself.

Shion paused outside the door to a convenience store just so she and Kiku could take advantage of the air conditioning for a moment. She plucked at her vest top and shivered pleasantly at the coldness fanning over her sweaty back.

" **Nee-san, I want an ice cream…please."**

"Just the one, alright? Take a _little_ mercy on my poor wallet, Kiku-chan."

Obeying her tiny overlord, Shion ducked obediently instead and loitered around the frozen isle while Kiku debated the merits of competing ice pop flavours. Shion didn't bother questioning how Kiku was capable of identifying them all while perched on her shoulders.

" **Tropical burst,"** Kiku demanded

"Eh? You said you hated it last time," Shion frowned, mostly to herself. " _I_ _n fact,_ 'tastes like old people farts' were your exact words. Not the most… eloquent of food reviews, can't imagine they'll be using it as their promotional tagline, y'know."

" **I want it."**

"I'm not buying it if you're just gonna smash it over people's heads like a demented dwarf. Pick something else. What about-"

Kiku interrupted before her older sister could begin rambling again. " **B** **ut I want that one."**

"Kiku, don't be a brat," Shion groaned.

Without typing anything new, Kiku began glaring and pressing the speech button on her tablet repeatedly in open rebellion. " **That one. That one. That one. That one."**

Shion just sighed. Deeply. Already sensing the next words and therefore her impending defeat.

" **I'll scream."**

"Alright, pipe down Yoda. I'll get you the shitty ice cream." With a huff, Shion rooted around in the cooler before holding the ice pop aloft.

Kiku wisely snatched it from her hands before her elder sister could reconsider. Shion really didn't want to deal with the effort needed to out-stubborn her little sister _and_ clean up the ensuing destruction one of her tantrums would cause. Her mother would probably have advised that by caving to a child undermined her authority, but it was hard to stick to her guns when the child in question could cut through three tons of steel by yelling and 'her authority' wasn't really among Shion's concerns. Even so Shion still felt the expectation (though not necessarily the desire) to at least attempt to _look_ like she was in control.

"But I swear if you smack me around the head with it or start whining, I'll punt you into the sea, alright?" Even to her own ears, it sounded like a hollow attempt to pacify.

Kiku surprisingly kept her mouth shut as Shion paid. Most likely satisfied that she gotten what she wanted…for the moment, anyway.

 _So_ she was basically going to waste how many years studying at U.A. for a career track she had no intention at all of pursuing. Because her mother had basically bullied her into it. Then again, her resistance _had_ been passive at best, so did it classify as bullying if you just went along with it? Well, her mother should have picked up on her disinterest! _After all, being a mind-reader was one of the divine duties of a mother._ And now Shion was horribly stuck.

Even though she'd had no prior interest in the whole 'High School Debut' business, she'd unconsciously had _some_ kind of impression of what it'd be like and _this_ wasn't it. It was all very well her father telling her that the experience would probably be the same ( _somehow_ despite the inclusion of death lasers and caped PE uniforms), but it wasn't her dad's life, _he_ wasn't the one who'd have to live through it each day. If it truly did suck all the joy out of her (which was pretty much the scenario Shion was expecting) then he and mom could give her a hug and sympathise, while having the envious luxury of going back to their own lives and _not_ having to deal with it all in the morning.

Shion sighed. Spiralling helplessly around in depressing mental circles wasn't helping at all. Worrying at the same thoughts was only stressing her out. Growing up with two Villain parents, never mind eccentric (which was just a polite term for 'bat shit insane') ones at that, Shion had long ago become accustomed to stress. The less of it, the better.

Maybe…maybe she could just tell her mother to call it off.

Suddenly Shion ground to a stop, nearly toppling Kiku with an indignant and quickly muffled squawk of protest. The thought had merit! It had begun with her mother's insistence, maybe the only way for it to end was with her mother's insistence? And she did had time to apply somewhere else, right? Probably. Who cared, she could study in a bin bag as long as it wasn't U.A.

" **Watch what you're doing, idiot."**

But how exactly was she supposed to get Hanako on side when this was the first thing she'd seen her mother so excited about that didn't involve illegal activities? Shion's Quirk effectively silenced any protests she could have had about the danger involved, and she'd never shown enough interest in another prospective career to not make it look like desperate grabbing.

Couldn't she just say that she didn't want to do it? Her parents had always been pushy in an odd, subtle way but they'd never consciously done something to upset any of their children. Shion was sure that if she did tell them that this was something she seriously did _not_ want to do, they'd get her out of it immediately. She could have laughed at what an idiot she'd been, moping about and torturing herself over this for weeks when the answer was so obvious.

All she had to do was ask.

So why did asking seem like the hardest thing in the world?

/-/-/

"Shion, is there a reason you're hovering over me?"

Shion had indeed been hovering. For the past three hours. And she hadn't been exactly subtle about it either, if the side-eyed looks her mother had been giving her was any indication. The lack of the 'chan' suffix was foreboding to say the least.

"Do I _need_ a reason to stalk my beloved Okaa-san?"

Hanako placed the little bottle of 'seashell pink' nail polish on the kotatsu with a neat little 'tink' before redirecting her attention to her daughter. "Am I going to need a restraining order?"

Shion blinked, "Eh? No, well I-"

"Then you're not _stalking_ me," Hanako smiled saccharinely, "you're just _bothering_ me. Sit down, I can't relax with you fussing about like that. It's unnatural."

"I _am_ sitting down," Shion protested.

Which was true, even if it was rather stiffly, a feat in itself as the Koyama sofa was one of those voluminous affairs made from the kind of well-worn material that seemed to swallow its patrons whole. When they were young, she and Hiroto had made a game of unearthing all sorts of treasure buried under its seats. Hiroto had even found a fossilised egg once (Shion was pretty sure it was from a chicken, but _he_ had been adamant that it was a dinosaur egg), and hadn't stopped crowing on about it for a week. Well, until he'd gotten bored of it and launched it from his school roof anyway.

"You're not sitting down _properly,_ you're just…perching," Hanako sniffed and gave her a _look._ "It's putting me on edge."

Normally, that sort of soft-toothed pestering wouldn't bother Shion in the slightest. But normally Shion wasn't a human-shaped ball of barely restrained anxiety, and therefore her reaction was decidedly not normal. With a grunt, Shion flung both her legs up in a V and strained until her toes were lightly kissing the back of the sofa. If she gripped her thighs, she could just about peer out like some sort of bizarre crab.

"There, far more comfortable. Happy?"

Hanako was less than impressed with her daughter's gymnastics. Never taking her eyes off Shion, she blew on her nails, expression flat. "…Shion, I am not having a conversation with you from between your legs- "

"Didn't expect to hear that from my mother," Shion muttered.

Hanako's brow just hitched. Shion tried for a conciliatory grin, but it must have come out a little too crooked, a little too tense and vulnerable, because suddenly her mother was all gentle concern.

"What's going on with you? You seem keyed up. Are you nervous about the Entrance Exam?"

"No, it's-"

"Because you'll do fine, I _know_ you will," Hanako shot her a wicked, self-assured smile, the kind they used to print big on the newspapers when she was younger and the Villain 'super couple' had pulled off a particularly impressive heist.

"You're my daughter, Shion-chan; you're a smart cookie when you put your mind to it, and I'm pretty sure you knocked the wind out of Hiroki with those muscles of yours more than once, hm?"

That would have been the ideal opportunity to tell her. She'd even been given the perfect set-up. Shion could _feel_ the words curling in the back of her throat, an opening of 'yeah, actually I've been sort of meaning to tell you…' just begging to be unfurled. But for the life of her she just couldn't seem to give them breath.

She thought back to her mother's excitement as they went through pile after pile of application paperwork, her gloating to the other mothers outside Kiku's primary school about her U.A.-accepted daughter. She thought of the way her father jostled her shoulders after training like they were two comrades, the proud gleam in his purple eyes as he patted one of his massive hands over her head.

They'd always, _always_ loved her, always made a far larger deal out of her accomplishments than was strictly needed and, when they actually were at home, took an (almost intrusive, at times) interest in what she was doing or her hobbies. But she'd always felt like she'd let them down in that regard. Shion had never been ambitious or determined like her siblings. While Kiku was getting the grades and Hiroto flew and fought his way around the known world, Shion had just kind of been… _there_ – more of a companion really, chatting with her mom or jamming with her dad.

As much as she hated the thought of U.A., it was the first time Shion felt somewhat up to par with her parents' admittedly impressive lifestyle. Would going to U.A. be _that_ bad? Yes, yes it would. Yet still, she found her confession walled up behind some mental block.

She was simultaneously relieved and frustrated when Hanako asked. "Are you worried about some kind of Funk thing?"

"Eh? Funk?" Shion's face creased with confusion.

"Y'know, that music you like. Though honestly, Shion-chan, I don't think the heavy eye-liner and ear piercings are something you should be going for. I mean _I_ don't have a problem with it but you might give people the wrong impression-"

"Oh! You mean _Punk_."

"Is there a difference?"

"Wow…just wow," Shion sighed, disappointed that those words had just come out the mouth of the woman that birthed her. "There's a _massive_ difference, Okaa-san, unless I've just managed to magically sprout an afro and flares."

The touching moment was effectively ruined when her father poked his grinning face around the door frame, jingling a bag of take-out at them. "Who wants burgers?"

Koyama Hiroki was a big, amicable teddy-bear that sometimes crushed Bank Vaults with his bare hands. Back in the day, he'd been a real hot-blooded delinquent and lead guitarist to some small-time punk band (between being a criminal, of course), with an encyclopaedia of tattoos, scars and cigarette burns to prove it. Shion had heard every story about his wild days (well, _wilder)_ at least twice, Hiroki never tired of telling them complete with enthusiastic arm gestures and sound effects. He was just that type of guy - loud, personable, thicker than a bag of rocks on occasion, and impossible to hate.

" _Yes,_ Tou-san," Shion grinned, patting her still protruding rump. "I've already got a nice, little ass-tray going on here."

Her father laughed in that big, excitable dog way of his, all deep timbre and sincere amusement. "That's some quality workmanship- "

" **Idiot,"** Kiku (who'd joined him on his quest for food, and clearly took more time removing her shoes than her father's habit of kicking them off in the general direction of the shoe rack) shoved past.

Shion and Hiroki blinked at one another, before the former murmured. "I'm not even sure which of us that was directed at."

"Eh? Kiku-chan, can't you be a little nicer to your papa, huh? I know I'm pretty impressive but I've still got feelings, y'know," Hiroki whined as he followed the pint-sized ice-queen into the kitchen.

Shion was just unfolding herself to join them when a heavily-ringed hand gently snagged her arm. Her mother looked up at her, the high cheekbones and plump, glossy features usually slightly cartoonish always looked far more tangible when concerned.

"Shion-chan, if something's really bothering you, you know you can talk to me or Hiroki, right?" Hanako murmured softly.

"Yeah, I know, Okaa-san," Shion smiled though it was more for her mother's benefit. Oddly, she felt like she was comforting Hanako, not the other way around.

"Because…I know we've not always been there for you…in the past but-"

"It's okay, Okaa-san, I know," Shion cut her off, unwilling to exhume that particular part of their past and uncomfortable with the naked hesitation on her mother's face. It was upsetting somehow, to see so much uncertainty on someone so bold. Her mother looked immediately grateful, at any rate.

"Alright then," Hanako clapped and grinned.

She pressed a lipstick kiss to her daughter's cheek before swaying into the kitchen, her arrival eliciting another burst of noisy chatter from Hiroki. Shion hesitated for a moment, listening to the commotion ensuing in the kitchen where her family was undoubtedly divvying up their portions (with Hiroki attempting to steal everyone else's). There was no way she could bring it up now.

She'd just have to wait to bring it up at the perfect time.


	2. Shion Koyama vs Giant Killer Robots

Disclaimer: 

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Shion and the Koyama family are my creations, however, so please don't copy.

Author's Note:

I haven't watched the anime of Hero Academia, so most of my material comes from the fan-translations. Therefore, the language of the characters from what I've gathered is far coarser (and age-appropriate, I think, for 15 year olds) than what is depicted in the anime. Just a general warning about swearing for this chapter and the rest of the fic. I've never been to Japan (never mind Fukuoka) and any Japanese terms listed I've lifted from the internet and added purely for setting purposes, so if they're incorrect, please don't hesitate to correct me.

I'll try to keep these Author Notes down to a minimum in future, but I just wanted to add that I've included a quick list of basic information on the main Koyama family (only one of them is Canon although I created the civilian name and age, I wonder if anyone's spotted who) at the bottom for anyone who's interested, I've included name meanings in the brackets. I'll likely be doing this for any OCs introduced.

Thank you for reading and reviews! Thank you for the follows and favourites! They honestly put a little smile on my face for the rest of the day.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Giant Killer Robots**

 **.**

" **Oh, yeah,** _ **oodles."**_

 **\- Kyoka Jirou**

 **.**

Shion was still waiting for the perfect time to bring it up when the car rolled to a stop outside U.A. for her Entrance Exam.

Hiroki whistled low and impressed, huge forearms crossed lazily on the wheel, "shit, look at that. Window-cleaners must be suicidal, huh?"

"Do you think they're compensating? Like a whole 'come gaze upon my shiny dong-towers' thing?" Shion leaned forward to peer out the front window.

"Gotta be," he twisted in the seat to flash her a toothy grin. "Isn't the Principle like a bear-rat or something?"

Shion chuckled, "jeez, _his_ parents must have been open-minded."

Kiku stirred at the mention of creatures of the four-legged persuasion, the first sign of interest she'd shown since they'd arrived in Musutafu. The Koyama family (minus her older brother, Hiroto, and a motley of tedious grandparents) had changed trains _three_ times to reach Musutafu from Fukuoka - a journey that Shion prayed would be considerably shorter without her parents' frequent pit stops, since she was apparently going to be making the same journey twice every day, five days a week. Taking advantage of the change in scenery, Hanako had rented a car for sightseeing purposes, which Kiku could not look more apathetic about (she'd barely looked up from her portable Nintendo console).

"Bear- _dog_ actually, and adorable so shut up," Hanako sniffed.

Shion and her father exchanged a smirk in the mirror, but otherwise kept their mouths shut.

Hanako clapped, beaming again, "alrighty, let's go!"

Shion piled out of the rental car, only partially surprised when her parents followed. Although as Villains they were _supposed_ to be keeping a low profile, Hanako and Hiroki looked like TV stars, both decked in designer sunglasses with her father's slicked back, blonde hair and white shirt open too many buttons than was advisable for a man his age. Meanwhile, Hanako had a scarf wrapped around her distinctive pink hair, her many necklaces and bracelets glinting in the morning sun. Everyone turned and her parents basked in the attention, peacocking in their designer clothes and making far more of spectacle than need be. A few of her former classmates had been envious of the audience her parents always seemed to gather, but Shion was both accustomed to (and secretly a little embarrassed by) their public behaviour. Sometimes she'd just wanted to go swimming without her dad turning it into a speedo advertisement, and she'd lost count of the amount of fist-fights Hiroto used to get into over classmates' comments on their mother's…physical appeal.

"Have you got everything?"

As far as Shion knew, she didn't need much anyway. She waggled her phone regardless, just to satisfy her mother.

Hanako smiled in a flash of perfectly white teeth, "good girl. Remember to drop us a text when you've finished and we'll pick you up, okay?"

Before Shion could even reply, her mother crushed her into a hug, pecking her on the cheeks and only relinquishing her hold so her father could almost squeeze the life out of her.

"Do your best!" they both crowed, grinning and flashing her a thumbs up. Even Kiku tore her gaze away from her game screen long enough to give her a brisk nod.

Five seconds after they'd sped away, the sinking feeling was returning. With a sigh, she looked up at the imposing building towering ahead of her. Slick, almost unnervingly clean and modern, the U.A. Academy was a testament – to what, Shion wasn't exactly decided on. Still, as she watched reflected clouds chase each other across its glass towers, she could admit she was impressed. U.A. looked like it belonged to a different world, one where everything was motion activated and smelt like citrus air freshener. How did they keep it so clean with so many teenagers about?

For a brief moment, Shion debated making a run for it. In the end, it was probably lack of courage than any sense of duty that kept her legs moving forward. Through the gates, the concrete path morphed into neat, little rows of grey brick. The students passed under thin, square archways (some kind of abstract modern art, she supposed since they didn't seem to have any purpose otherwise), each one separated by an empty-armed tree or a bust of some famous Hero. Shion drew her shoulders closer to her ears, feeling oddly guilty under their blank stare. She didn't _feel_ like she was entering a High School. It was missing something, that sense of slamming lockers and gaggle of teenagers trading barbs and the squeak of shoes on the linoleum flooring as someone hurried to class, that Shion unconsciously associated with school. U.A. was more like a museum. Here, Shion imagined everyone spoke quietly and put their trash in the correct receptacle. There probably wasn't even any graffiti in the boy's bathroom.

She jammed her headphones in, hoping the familiar flurry of screaming guitar and heavy drums would overpower her nerves. She hadn't even got _inside_ U.A. and she already felt widely out of place. Despite her mother's best efforts to prep her like Shion was embarking on a bank heist, she had only a vague idea of where she was going so mainly relied on ambling along uniform white, high-ceilinged hallways with the current of other (hopefully more prepared) students. She didn't recognise anyone from previous schools, at least.

Finally, everyone began emptying out into an auditorium. It, much like everything else in the place, was vast. More suited to an audience three times larger than its current number (which wasn't small by any means). Shion spied a seat at the back and threw herself into the plush padding with a satisfied smile. There was an aborted noise of surprise next to her, and only then did Shion consider how sudden her appearance had probably been for her new neighbour.

Looking a little shamefaced, she removed an earphone and flashed the girl an apologetic smile, "heh, sorry, didn't see you there."

The girl only looked back at her flatly, "kinda hard to miss me but whatever."

She had a point. Not that the girl was freakishly large or anything, but Shion should have probably looked before she leapt, so to speak.

"Yeah, yeah, just a little nervous, y'know. You?"

"Me, what?" the girl raised one thin brow, still utterly unimpressed.

Shion tried not to be too discouraged by the reception. At this point in her life, Shion had switched schools more times than she could count. It was second-hand to her - grin, crack a few jokes, be bigger than she felt.

But coaxing the (needlessly hostile) girl into conversation was proving hard work. Still, it was either speak to her or sit there in silence, and while neither option was looking particularly attractive at the moment, she preferred the former over the latter. Besides, with her lop-sided bob and an intriguing cluster of band patches on her backpack, the girl was the first person Shion had seen that clearly had anything in common with her.

"Feel like you might spray the next three rows with projectile vomit," Shion prompted.

The girl only stared at her with flat confusion for a long moment, before uttering a bewildered, "… _no?"_

"Oh, just me then! Don't worry, I'll give you a heads up if I feel the chunky tide approaching," Shion flashed her a grin and a thumbs up, something that only confused the girl more.

"Thanks…I guess," the girl muttered.

Shion nodded before thrusting out a hand, "shit, I forgot, my name's Koyama Shion."

The girl took her hand a bit apprehensively, "Jirou Kyoka."

Shion opened her mouth to ask about the patches, and therefore her music tastes, when she was interrupted by a voice turned up to eleven.

"Welcome one and all to my live show! Everybody say 'hey'!"

Shion blinked. The little, bandy-legged guy on stage looked slightly past his sell-by date, but (as she would learn in the ensuing twenty minutes) was more than eager to make up for it through sheer volume. A Voice Augmentation Quirk. Shion briefly wondered if Present Mic was of any relation to her mother's side of the family. Not that she would know since Hanako's parents had, for all intents and purposes, disowned their daughter (and their grandchildren by proxy) years ago.

The first task as Present Mic scream-explained was basic:

1-Beat up the robots,

2-Each robot is worth different points, bar the fourth type which was a decoy,

3-Those with the highest totals would score the highest.

Simple enough. Shion wasn't sure whether she should be grateful that the particular challenge was well tailored to her Quirk or not. On one hand, she wouldn't have to worry about making too much of a fool out of herself, but on the other it might have been better in the long run if she had a more legitimate excuse for failure. Then again, 'failure' implied she was in anyway invested in winning, so...

On the way to the designated area, Shion was that far in her own thoughts that she shoulder-checked a bulky guy with lips even puffier than her own. He grunted, stumbling a few paces and swirling on Shion with an accusatory look.

"Shit, sorry," Shion held up her hands.

He muttered something as he turned back around. Shion frowned. Weren't jumped-up Hero wannabes meant to be much friendlier? Speaking of…

"Yo, Jirou-chan!" Shion jogged over to where Kyoka was dragging her feet.

Kyoka's shoulders were up near her ears in an effort to hunch under the scrutiny of her peers, and her arms hadn't yet unfolded from their defensive position. The simultaneously embarrassed and irritated look she shot Shion was so reminiscent of Kiku that she couldn't help grinning.

"Missed me, huh?" Shion asked as they drew level.

"Oh, yeah, _oodles_ ," Kyoka drawled.

Shion laughed outright at that, "am I detecting just the barest hint of sarcasm?"

"Just a hint?" Kyoka muttered, but this time there was a definite hint of a smile.

"You mean you _haven't_ been drawn in by my magnetic personality?" Shion waggled her brows – an expression that was just shy of being demented.

Kyoka just drew to a stop and _stared_ at her, hands on hips and one eyebrow arched. Shion couldn't tell if the shorter girl genuinely disliked her or if prickly was her default mood.

"Oh, _ouch_ , rejected," Shion clutched at her heart. "Looks like I'm in for a night of sobbing uncontrollably into my pillow, huh."

In her first display of benevolence thus far, Kyoka's previous flat expression crumpled with concern. Shion was more than a little relieved to see that the purple-haired girl didn't _completely_ hate her. Still, actually apologising seemed beyond Kyoka's capabilities, so Shion settled for peeking at the mock city their test was to take place in.

Bar the fact that it was an entire city erected purely for the purpose of being collateral damage, the architecture itself was rather cut-and-paste. It was a little unnerving seeing all the components of somewhere like Fukuoka City without the human individualities. Or the humans, for that matter. Everyday things that hadn't really registered to Shion before, solely _because_ they were every day, were glaringly absent - cars running or parked or huffing somewhere in-between the two states, people ambling along, talking, lounging, the cloud of ambivalent background noise that denoted human life, the very _breath_ of a city.

Further reconnaissance was limited since the bulky guy from before blocked out most of Shion's view. He'd been frantically patting himself down and scanning the ground for the past five minutes, muttering with increasing frustration about sweets. Aggravated as he clearly was, Shion just hoped that he wouldn't spot her and choose to start anything.

Shion supposed she too should probably take advantage of the delayed start, by activating her Quirk in preparation. The first few layers of augmented muscle slid over Shion's arms, legs and torso with a sensation like burrowing into a quilted duvet. _Not too much, don't want to single myself out by suddenly going full Hulk._

She bounced once on the balls of her feet, feeling the generated additional muscle mass loosen and tighten. Already she could feel the significant boost, the coiled spring of power thrumming under her skin like a cocked gun. And suddenly, she wasn't so conflicted anymore. Those first few minutes of activating her Quirk were always heady, no matter how often she did it. That torrent of newly acquired raw strength, that sudden widening of her body's natural potential, she felt like she could punch the moon out of orbit if she wanted to.

"Aaaand start!" Present Mic's voice screeched, "What's the matter? There's no such thing as a countdown in real battle! Run! Ruuuun!"

Shion flashed Kyoka a quick grin before taking off. And 'taking off' was the correct term. With all those augmented leg muscles, Shion shot forward like a bullet, overtaking one then three then eight others. She barely resisted the urge to whoop with laughter as she swerved around a corner, scraping the pavement slightly as she went. She could feel her heart pumping, the give and tug as her feet pounded under her, nothing else mattered.

The first robot she came across burst from the nearby coffee shop, shedding plaster like leaves and honing in on Shion with a static mechanical whir. Without much thought, Shion grinned, ducked her head and charged. The robot was too clunky for any quick manoeuvres; barely getting one huge, shuddering leg under it before Shion was upon it. Pressing her cheek against the cold kiss of metal, she wrapped her arms around where the piston of its shin met the thick armoured plate of the thigh and kept running. With its leg swiped out underneath its bulk, the robot tipped forward and crashed to the pavement in a spider web of concrete.

The tremor had Shion dancing back a few steps, dragging the twitching, struggling body of the robot with her. She stared wide-eyed for a moment, breathing heavily. She'd always known she was strong (too strong) but previously she'd only been capable of measuring her strength against her brother and father - both of whom far outmatched her. Anything or anyone else would have been dangerous. But this… _this_! Shion's grin split her face, whirling at the sound of another approaching machine. This one was far less dense than the other, but taller, skinnier and shinier with needle-like appendages. Built for speed, she guessed, rather than defence as the previous had been. An oblong head resembling a security camera rotated until it fixed onto her, before it began skittering forward in a spidery movement that was both alarmingly fast and more than a little off-putting. At that speed, she had five minutes at most before it reached her.

Layering her arms and shoulders with more muscle, Shion felt her shirt rip as she tugged the robot leg she was still clasping from the socket. With a grunt, she planted her feet as she spun, once, twice then released the robot leg at the second robot like a shot put. It wasn't a clean throw by any means, but the first robot's girth seemed to play to her advantage in these circumstances as it cannonballed straight into the spider-bot's oblong head. The spider-bot's head snapped back, wires screaming with mechanic pleas as it was ripped lose and (along with the leg) smashed into the third-story of a nearby tower. The remainder of the second robot stumbled drunkenly for a moment before it folded under itself, legs splayed about haphazardly.

"Ha! Nice!" Shion cheered, laughing like an idiot then immediately yelping as the first robot laboriously attempted to climb back onto its single remaining leg.

Hastily she clambered onto its angular chest before layering further muscle into her right arm, paying particular attention to her fist. She'd have to be careful. Too much augmented muscle mass took too much concentration to maintain, and not keeping it under control or attached properly could be just as detrimental. Shion had crushed her arm more times than she could count under the strain of incorrectly developed muscle as a child, and it was _not_ an experience she'd like to repeat. _But_ a childish, gleeful part of her insisted that she'd always wanted to try this.

The augmented muscle slipped into place around her knuckles and fingers, hopefully sufficiently cushioning them. Then she drew her fist back and, with all that inhuman strength bunching along her arm and shoulders, let it fly straight into the robot's chest. Metal folded under her like paper. Wires snapping. Electricity cackling then fizzing from existence with empty pops along her protected arm. Concrete heaved once like a disturbed pool under the force of the impact. And finally, the robot's light shrunk into nothing.

 _Holy shit._

It probably wasn't anywhere near the level of damage All Might or Hiroto was capable of (she'd only managed to punch halfway through, at best) but it was more than enough to send her pulse rocketing with glee.

There was a common misconception about Koyama Shion that because she never fought, she hated violence. Truth was Shion _couldn't_ fight. Growing up, her Quirk hadn't been as stable as it was now and had been liable to activate at any given moment. Doors, walls, her friends, _everything_ had suddenly become so breakable. In the space of a day she went from Koyama Shion to this big, ungainly thing living in a world of sugar paper.

Accidental or otherwise, when you hurt people enough they soon stopped wanting to be around you and Shion had been uncomfortably aware of how tenuous her peers' acceptance had been. Moving schools often helped, and she was sure she could have had it _much_ worse (like the kid that constantly secreted corrosive acid from her second Middle School), but Shion had felt a little cheated. After all, uncontrollable bodily functions weren't _meant_ to start sabotaging her social life until puberty. As much as she hadn't liked the necessary restraint, she'd got used to it and it was easier that way. Being careful meant no one got hurt.

But _here_ she was being actively encouraged to cut free. Here everything was _meant_ to be breakable. The sudden bloom of lightness that infused Shion the moment she pulled her fist free was bright and impenetrable. She took off running, bursting out into the second street, bursting out of her skin it felt like.

She forgot all about it being the U.A. Entrance Exam. She just launched at the first robot she spotted. It batted her back like a fly. The air was forcibly ripped from her lungs as Shion smashed straight through the window of a mock grocery store, skidding along her back against the linoleum and confetti of broken glass. Pulling herself into sitting position, Shion rested her elbows on her knees and wheezed a laugh. The extra layers of muscle had taken the force of the collision but were tattered and tender as a result.

She'd need to regrow them – a time consuming and draining process, and one Shion was confident she could handle at her current power level. A power level not achieved by training but an unintentional perk of living in a family with powerful Quirks and (with the exception of Kiku and Shion, of course) zero hesitation about using them. It was an experience that involved more memories of suffering through and fending off Augmented Strength Atomic Noogies than Shion was willing to revisit. Hiroto's impromptu and incredibly one-sided wrestling matches (and boxing matches and kickboxing matches and mixed martial arts matches, and how was she still alive?) were probably the only reason she was capable of shrugging off damage of that magnitude. 'Fragile' was not a condition compatible with Koyama Hiroto – unless you wanted to live the rest of your life as a paraplegic.

When her new muscle was attached, she'd need to take that robot out. And the one after that. And the one after that.

Unfortunately, her Muscle Augmentation Quirk did not apply to her lungs. Five robots in and Shion was officially out of puff. She'd been so caught up her earlier burst of freedom that she hadn't thought to keep count, but she supposed that she'd probably destroyed enough – a fact that left her a little irritated with herself now she'd stopped enough to think about it. Shion lifted her sweaty hair off her neck, she probably stunk and panting like a pig was hardly attractive. Unfortunately, her jacket was beyond salvation, barely held in place by her collar and the few buttons stubborn enough to withstand her formerly bulging muscles.

At least there didn't seem to be much of an audience around. A plain-faced boy she'd caught shooting cello tape (of all things) out of his forearms earlier glanced warily at where she was slumped against the crumbled remains of her final victim, but that was it. Shion had purposely tried to put as much distance between herself and the others as possible, cautious of any potential casualties even in her adrenaline. There was some sort of commotion raging on three blocks over and Shion lifted her head enough to watch a robot that skimmed the tops of the neighbouring skyscrapers crumple and fall. Impressive, but not something Shion thought worth dredging up the energy to investigate. She just put her head between her knees and panted, waiting for it to be over.

/-/-/

A week passed. The Acceptance letter came. Shion had cruised somewhere past passively fighting her fate, and meandered slowly into grim resignation. Head pillowed on folded arms, folded arms resting on her actual pillow, Shion watched the orange light of the setting sun shift and yawn across her ceiling.

Downstairs, the congratulatory party her parents had thrown was reaching a fever pitch of crooning dance music. Shion had excused herself hours earlier, a little sour that her parents hadn't made more of a fuss about her departure despite the fact that it was the last thing she'd wanted them to do. The fan on her desk whirred softly from left to right and back again.

She didn't know what to do with herself, and was equally unwilling to actually take anyone up on their suggestions. There'd been a perfunctory effort to call Hiroto but honestly she was secretly relieved he hadn't answered. She wasn't sure exactly what he'd say about her current situation but it definitely would not be good – she already knew she'd regret it, she already knew she'd hate it, and she didn't need Hiroto to tell her that. He'd probably call her a 'sell-out'. He'd always hated Heroes more than she had, but he'd always had more reason to.

Her old classmates (and the ones from the school before that, and the one before that, and the one before that) were already exchanging chains of "well done" and "I'll miss you" and "I'll always remember you guys" over social media, but if anything that was dragging her mood down further. She hadn't exactly lacked people to hang out with at school, but Shion had always been painfully aware of the difference between the class clown and an actual, proper friend. They'd forget about her in a month. Probably less. In the past, it'd seemed easier that way at the time because she'd inevitably be moving again, and better the fool than the thug. Everyone liked the fool - just nobody could be bothered keeping in touch with them apparently. Laid out on her bed in a state of fugue Shion really wished she had someone – anyone to talk to.

She sighed, eyes travelling over her posters – mainly punk bands and horror movies, a couple of Studio Ghibli ones and cheesy action or romance films that were secretly her favourites. Over to the drum set sitting neglected in the corner, before finally resting on the congregation of framed photographs on her desk. It was the one in the gummy frame that drew her attention, edged by glitter stars and planets.

Inside was a photograph of the Koyama siblings from way back when Kiku was still in nappies. All three of them were dressed as movie monsters. Hiroto with his blonde, spiky hair and slanted baby-blue eyes, grinning widely as he slung an arm around Shion's skinny shoulders. She remembered throwing up a fuss to be Godzilla (an honour that had unsurprisingly gone to Hiroto in the end), but the Mothra costume had been equally impressive with its bug-eyed goggles and fragile paper wings. Hair the exact same shade of honey blonde as Hiroto's and curving dark purple eyes scrunched up in a beaming smile, five-year-old Shion was flashing the peace sign while the other clutched a wobbly Kiku to her leg. Unlike the other two shining examples of costuming, Kiku's Rodan outfit left a lot to be desired – thanks in no small part to the infant's fascination with chewing toothless-ly on Rodan's beak.

At the age of five, her Quirk had manifested the year before and Shion had never told Hiroto how much she'd appreciated the easy way he'd continued to display physical affection. Not just the wrestling and play-fighting, but the way he used to pat her head when he was laughing at something she said (or just _at_ her), or the way he used to grasp her shoulder when he was worried about her, or the rare crushing hugs. She wished she had that now. In fact, she'd always thought he'd been just as relieved to finally have a playmate who could keep up with his rough housing when the rest of the world seemed so frustratingly breakable (not that he would have admitted to something so embarrassing). Mostly though she wished she could go back, back to standing on the back of Hiroto's bike and playing Oni to Kiku's damsel in distress.

"Yo, I'm coming in, okay?" as per usual Hiroki asked for entry _as_ he was already in process of entering. "What's up, Shion-chan?"

"Nothing, just chilling, y'know," Shion heaved herself into sitting position.

Hiroki snorted with incredulity, "just moping, you mean."

"I do _not_ mope! Okay, I have been known, on occasion, to spend a lot of time sitting on my own, wallowing in self-pity and listing all the reasons why my life is totally ruined. But that's _character building…_ I think."

Hiroki sighed, floorboards jumping slightly under his weight as he swaggered further into the room, "alright, c'mon. Budge up."

"Tou-san, you're not sitting on the bed," Shion huffed once with amused exasperation, "you'll snap it in two."

"Hey, it's not my fault that your weak bed can't take my weight," Hiroki complained in that palpably smug way that was uniquely his.

"There are _freighters_ that can't take your weight, Tou-san."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Hiroki smirked and shrugged in acquiescence.

He poked around her desk awhile, smiling to himself at some of the photographs and squinting at the odds and ends tacked onto its corkboard back. Shion waited.

" _So_ …" Hiroki frowned, popping his lips and tapping a nonsense rhythm on his thighs, "what's bothering you?"

"… Did Kaa-san send you? Blink twice if you need help," Shion grinned.

She didn't want to get into this with him. Getting into a fight with her parents was never a short-lived or quiet affair, and about as desirable as shoving a sea urchin up her backside.

"Oh, shit, yeah, almost forgot!" his eyes crinkled as he grinned and bounded forward to ruffle a hand through her hair. "You kicked some serious ass out there! I mean we never saw the tapes or anything, but judging the size of the clean-up crew…?"

He whistled to demonstrate how impressed by their size he'd been, "wrecking some serious damage like your old man, huh?"

Shion just kept quiet, fiddling with the frayed threads in her fashionably torn skinny jeans.

"You just…er, don't seem as happy about it, y'know."

"That's because I'm not," Shion muttered.

Hiroki was suddenly in action, moving closer with his broad features scrunched with confusion, "eh? But you were really up for it before!"

" _You_ guys were really up for it," Shion turned her face away from her father's, worried that if he spotted her expression there'd be no going back.

Stupid, she'd said far too much already. Her body was already tensing up at the thought of an impending argument. But Hiroki had been the one prodding her for an answer, _she_ hadn't approached _him._

"What's that supposed to mean? _You_ were the one who came up with it," Hiroki didn't sound angry, just like he was trying to grasp a complicated math equation. " _P_ _roper_ training and figuring out Hero stuff like their powers and tactics and shit, right? It's gonna give you an edge over everyone else in the business!"

"It's…" Shion sighed explosively, and dredged up a smile, "it's nothing, y'know. Don't worry, Tou-san."

Hiroki hesitated, "… you're sure? Cause if you ain't…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. It's probably some teenage angst thing. If I start playing acoustic guitar and writing shitty poetry, please do me a favour and leave me out with the trash, okay?"

"You got it!" Hiroki chuckled, flashing her big grin.

He paused at the door, twisting round to add, "just don't mope so long, you'll vegetate."

"No turning turnip, you got it!"

Shion waited until he was gone before flopping back onto the bed. Hiroto probably would have just told their father straight and damn the fallout. Hiroto would probably have never got himself into this situation in the first place. _Shion_ , on the other hand, was starting U.A. soon and had no hope of saving herself.

"Screw this," scowling, Shion threw herself off her bed and yanked on a zip-up hoodie, then her oversized leather jacket over that.

With her parents occupied with the karaoke machine, stuffing on her sneakers and heading out the door without their notice was easy enough. Wrestling her bike free from the ever increasing mound of junk at the back of their house was noticeably more difficult, but nothing Shion couldn't manage.

One foot planted on the pavement and the other braced against the pedal, Shion pulled in a deep cleansing breath before kicking off. It was late, the streetlamps already bobbing peacefully overhead like fat bellied fireflies and the night sky deepening to that swelling indigo, just on the cusp of night. Despite it being Fukuoka City, the foot traffic was blessedly light. Shion rolled past parents with toddlers between their clasped hands as they left restaurants, a group of teenagers shrieking and spraying at one another with water bottles, businessmen with their faces tucked into the collars of their coats and gazes impatiently locked on a (presumably) homeward direction. They hardly glanced up, their lives and Shion's just gently bumping against each other for a moment as they followed their separate currents.

At first Shion flew by them all, pouring the rising tide of frustration into her feet on the pedals until her hoodie and hair were whipping out behind her. The shopfronts and windows were lighting up around her as if ushering her into its embrace. Finally, Shion's shoulders dropped. The next push of speed was for the pure freedom of it, the salt air on her tongue and bubbled conversation of night-time people wafting about her. Standing on her pedals, she glided through it listening to the wheels clicking before leisurely turning to follow the path along the river.

She didn't know how long she rode. It didn't really matter. She felt cathartic afterwards, less like she was prickling inside her own skin. Sometimes she just needed to pull herself out the vortex of benign insanity that was her parents. Of course, none of her fears about U.A. had disappeared. She still thought that she'd thrown away her education (and therefore, the security of a job that didn't involve regular maiming) on idiotic boredom-ramblings. The thought of actually playing spy and using those teachings to become a Pro-Villain like her parents assumed, was something Shion didn't even want to bother thinking about at the moment.

But she was pretty sure U.A. also provided a standard education, or there'd be a bunch of Heroes defeated by basic calculus. And the Hero stuff was going to be nauseating, there was no getting over that, but it wouldn't be the first time she'd had to stomach a bunch of insufferable assholes. She didn't _have_ to actually pay them lip service. She could probably fake her way through most of it, or preferably sleep through it since her Quirk meant that she'd coast through that portion of her lessons anyway. After all, it was out of her hands, not much she could do about it now.

Shion closed her eyes, inhaled a lungful of air crisp with sea salt and oncoming rain, and let it all go. Light from the electronic billboards rooted atop high rise buildings danced and skimmed along the placid surface of the river beside her in streaks of reds, golds and greens. Advertisements for high-sugar, high-energy drinks sponsored by the Hero flavour of the week. Up ahead the cluster of Yatai were breathing with activity, bellows of soy-tinged steam and distant cheering conversation wafted about her as she cycled past.

Shion let it all go.

* * *

 **Koyama (small mountain) Family:**

 **Mother:**

 **Civilian Name:** Hanako (flower child)

 **Quirk:** Voice Augmentation

 **Hair Colour:** Pink

 **Eye Colour:** Blue

 **.**

 **Father:**

 **Civilian Name:** Hiroki (great tree)

 **Quirk:** Muscle Augmentation

 **Hair Colour:** Blonde

 **Eye Colour:** Purple

 **.**

 **Older Brother:**

 **Civilian Name:** Hiroto (big, great + command, esteem)

 **Birthday:** 28th November

 **Age:** 23

 **Quirk:** Muscle Augmentation

 **Hair Colour:** Blonde

 **Eye Colour:** Blue

 **.**

 **Middle Child:**

 **Civilian Name:** Shion (Aster Flower, a purple flower, meaning in the Japanese Language of Flowers 'I won't forget you'/'remembrance')

 **Birthday:** 16th August

 **Age:** 15

 **Quirk:** Muscle Augmentation

 **Hair Colour:** Blonde

 **Eye Colour:** Purple

 **.**

 **Little Sister:**

 **Civilian Name:** Kiku (Chrysanthemum, pink flower, symbol of the Emperor with Imperial connotations)

 **Birthday:** 3rd June

 **Age:** 10

 **Quirk:** Voice Augmentation

 **Hair Colour:** Pink

 **Eye Colour:** Blue


	3. Shion Koyama vs Principal Floof

Disclaimer:

I don't own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. I've made up the band names here. Considering Hero Academia is set in the future, it made more sense than referencing any real ones.

Thank you so much for all the favourites, follows and reviews!

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Principal Floof**

 **.**

" **I dunno, I just always assumed I'd die with a wedgie."**

 **\- Shion Koyama**

 **.**

Not ten minutes into her first day at U.A. and, for reasons unknown to Shion, she was in trouble. Or, at least, she strongly suspected that she was in trouble. She couldn't think of another reason why she was being corralled into the Principal's office by a teacher with a jaw like a bookshelf. Shion smiled uneasily and eyed the windows with renewed promise. She could probably survive a drop from this height. Probably.

The sad, little procession halted outside what Shion presumed was the Principal's office; where her chaperone knocked on the door twice with the back of his knuckles. He shifted to give Shion an unreadable look from the corner of his eye, but bar that he'd been doing his level best not to acknowledge her. Shion sighed, resigned and more put-out by the hassle the approaching dismissal would be. And it _could_ only be that, the only new student to be immediately wrangled by tusked faculty just _conveniently_ happened to be the only one with familial connections to Villains. Expulsion. It had to be. It was hardly surprising (she was _more_ surprised that she'd managed to get past the gate). Honestly, she wasn't dreading the act so much as the waffling it would involve. _She didn't want to be here. She_ _ **really**_ _did not want to be here._

"One moment please," a voice called from inside.

Shion bounced on the balls of her feet and shook out her arms, relaxing her body if not mind for the oncoming ordeal. Without further ado the door swung open, revealing a surprisingly hospitable room in neutral cream colouring, complete with sofa, coffee table and the odd house plant. The comfortable mundanity of it was an unwelcome reminder that teachers were, in fact, people too.

"Ah, Koyama-chan, right on time."

Shion readjusted her gaze. Principal Nezu was a small, soft-haired creature of indeterminate species – an amalgamation of little, shiny eyes, pink nose, perked ears and twitching tail combined to achieve optimum cuteness. He wore a little vest tailored jacket, with a little tailored shirt and little pressed trousers, and on his feet were little tailored leather shoes; a professional assemble on any other member on staff, but on Nezu it only increased his adorableness. Shion's fingers twitched. Despite _knowing_ in a purely intellectual fashion, that this was her principal, the urge to pick him up and snuggle him under her chin was strong. Tiny. Soft. Cuddly.

"Well, come in, come in," he smiled, opening the door wider with a geniality that Shion wasn't sure was genuine or not.

Dumbly Shion did as she was told, still resisting the urge to cave into her embarrassing weak spot for cuteness.

"Thank you, Kan-sensei, you've been most helpful," Nezu addressed the ape-like teacher who'd collected her.

If he replied, Shion didn't hear it. Nezu had already shut the door and redirected his focus entirely on her, before she'd even finished inspecting the view from his windows.

"Please make yourself comfortable," a paw, disproportionately large compared to the limb it was attached to, gestured towards the sofa which Shion immediately flopped onto. If she was going to sit through several paragraphs of apologetic excuses and false reassurances about her future without U.A., the least she could do was make sure she was comfy.

"Tea, Koyama-chan?" Nezu offered.

She was so fixated on how large the cups looked in his paws, that it took her a moment to register the question.

"Eh?" she waved a hand. "Ah, no, I'm fine, thanks, sensei."

Shion's focus was once again tested as she watched the principal clamber onto the chair. A squeak almost eked past her lips as he physically hauled himself on the cushioned seat, and smoothed down the little buttons on his vest with a nod of satisfaction.

"Right, I'm sure you're wondering why I called you here," Nezu began.

Straight down to business. Shion was a little surprised by the direct approach.

"Not really," she laughed nervously. "I mean, it was only a matter of time before you found out about my parents and booted me out, right? I'm just hoping the 'booting' is less of the literal kind… unless you've got a trebuchet or something to _actually_ launch me out of, because that'd be pretty cool-"

"Sorry," Nezu interrupted, blinking once with confusion and leaning forward, "you think I'm _expelling_ you?"

It was Shion's turn to blink, "…well, yeah."

"Of course not! We couldn't very well promote a Hero's sensibilities while expelling students due to their parents' life choices," Nezu closed his eyes as he shook his head like a mildly agitated old man. "Oh no, Koyama-chan, that wouldn't do at all."

Why did _she_ suddenly feel guilty about making an awful suggestion when it was the most logical conclusion? After all, the Entrance Exam had relied heavily on tests of physical aptitude _not_ the pureness of the student's heart, or some other puerile rubbish that Hero's whiter than white image alluded to – an aptitude that was dependent on birth, on your _parents'_ genetics.

Shion could not just accept that U.A. was willing to overlook her sordid background on good faith alone. They _had_ to be getting something out of taking such a high risk. Perhaps the merits of her Quirk outweighed the negatives of its source? It _was_ a pretty advanced Quirk after all, both for offensive and defensive purposes, and she was sure a good number of Hero firms would pay big money to list its user in their ranks. Maybe they reasoned that one more Villain in here meant one less Villain on the street, or _maybe_ they were just hoping to craft her into some sort of dramatic headline? 'The child of a Villain becomes a Hero'. It'd certainly draw in the crowds.

Shion didn't want to be a headline. She didn't even want to be in U.A.

"However, while we're on the subject, I understand that sharing your parentage could cause some… complications at U.A," Nezu began. "Many of the other students have professional Hero family members."

 _Shit._ She hadn't even thought of that. Not only were the faculty potential dangers, but the other kids too! At least with the staff, Shion was protected somewhat by workplace regulations - but angry, hormonal teenagers with supernatural powers and some sort of grudge to honour, were _not_ a demographic Shion wanted to piss off.

"Therefore it's perfectly understandable if you'd prefer to keep this information 'low-key', so to speak," the principal continued in his business-like manner. "Of course, the staff are all aware of your particular circumstances and will help in any way we can, that also includes counselling should the need arise. Anything discussed within school grounds will remain in school grounds. I trust this will go both ways?"

"Er, yeah, yeah, of course."

"Good," he nodded. "I just wanted to reassure you that you will be judged on your own merits, Koyama-chan. As long as you're sincere about your desire to become a Hero, you needn't worry about discrimination."

"…. Thank you?" Shion replied uncertainly.

She looked to her lap as she processed this new information. If U.A. was motivated by publicity, then they were clearly willing to play the long game. Though the mention of counselling (and _that_ had made her irritation spike, as if she was some sort of pity case desperate for a Hero's oh-so-gentle guidance) nagged at her. Heroes and Villains weren't so different in a lot of respects; could U.A. be attempting to use her for information gathering purposes too? Still, that would suggest that they were at least aware of the possibility of ulterior motives for her application, and therefore had justifiable reason to extricate themselves from the potential trouble it would cause. So what was their angle?

And that final part? 'As long as you're sincere' sounded far more thinly veiled threat, than comfort to Shion. Something sickly twisted in her stomach at the acknowledgment that she was almost laughably out of her depth. Whatever U.A. was up to, they were _not_ messing around. These were _professional_ Heroes; they beat menaces to society far more dangerous than a fifteen-year-old with an interfering mother to a pulp on a daily basis.

They might not string her up outside the school gates as a warning to other ne'er-do-wells if she stepped out of line, but she seriously doubted they'd be satisfied with a simple scolding either. Which (being the sort of person with an appreciation for her limbs remaining attached) effectively deterred Shion from any information gathering, and therefore nullified the main reason she'd applied in the first place. Shion could have laughed. The first time her parents' get involved in her education, and she ends up being a potential punching bag for cereal mascot in a waistcoat.

 _Not_ getting expelled shouldn't be this distressing.

"Not at all," he smiled. "May I say, it's quite admirable that you've decided to better yourself."

Shion didn't even know _what_ to say to that, so she kept her mouth shut. At that moment she would have given anything to talk with her mother. Her own sense of direction was so frazzled by the principal's earnestness, that she felt like if her anxiety spiked up any further it was going to come gushing out her head. She didn't do well with stuff like this. Just sitting there in silence, Shion was paranoid that she was showing her hand in some crucial way.

"Oh, before you leave -"

She wasn't aware that she _was_ leaving until he said it.

"-here," Nezu slid a small plastic card across the table, "your train card, U.A. will cover all your travel costs."

"Oh, right. Thanks, sensei," Shion ducked into a quick bow, and fumbled with her backpack as Nezu scrambled onto the floor again.

"Do you know your way to your classroom?" he asked politely as he opened the door.

Shion's thoughts were still reeling, she hadn't really considered that she _would_ be returning to her classroom (instead of immediate expulsion – via trebuchet optional) never mind its location.

"Er…kind of?"

"Second story, straight on from the staircase," he paused to smile at her again. "I hope you have a pleasant and productive day."

/-/-/

Shion _heard_ 1A's classroom before she saw it. Which was not a comment on the size of the classroom itself (it was more than generous if the ridiculously large door was any indication), but rather a testament to the volume of shouting echoing down the empty corridor.

After pushing the door open, Shion immediately ducked under the arm of a widely gesticulating boy with glasses, a square jaw and apparently a lot of opinions that were worth shouting about. Bar a bewildered glance, Shion didn't pay him much mind; already scanning the room for either a seat or someone who looked vaguely friendly. At first she found neither, but she _did_ spot a familiar face.

"Yo, Jirou-chan!" Shion grinned, loping towards the girl in question.

Jirou Kyoka only blinked as the blonde barrelled towards her.

"We meet _again_!" Shion waggled her fingers and announced with theatrical horror, only just stopping shy of shining her phone-torch under her chin.

"Oh, it's you." Kyoka leaned back in her chair, arms folded across her skinny chest, and with a monumental eye-roll muttered, " _great._ "

Shion huffed a laugh as she plonked herself in the seat beside Kyoka. Honestly, after the emotional whiplash of the Principal's office, Kyoka's attitude was somewhat grounding. There was a moment of awkward silence as Shion struggled for something to say. Talking about the Exam seemed pointless since neither party had appeared overly interested in it in the first place, and the usual inquiries were a little too familiar when she barely knew the girl.

Attempting not to glance at Kyoka too obviously, she settled for inspecting the rest of the classroom instead. Shion felt far more confident about scoping out her fellow students while under the protection of her tentative connection with Kyoka. She definitely didn't recognise anyone from previous schools. Good.

Bar a few obvious exceptions, none of them _looked_ especially threatening - exotic maybe (the pink girl with the enviously curly hair and black-out eyes) or pitifully _un_ threatening (the trembling boy with the berry hair). But Shion knew that appearance didn't actually mean anything in terms of power. Hiroto was seven times Kiku's weight and size, and yet in a death match Kiku's Augmented Voice Quirk probably posed a larger threat. At least, Hiroto would have to _reach_ you to hurt you, while Kiku didn't even need to be in the same building.

Most of the other students were making their own quiet assessments - even if they were restricted to 'tits and ass' criteria like Berry Boy's. Those that weren't either side-eyeing their classmates or engaged in conversation, were far more worryingly quiet and introspective – coolly detached from the buzz of excitement and self-consciousness. In Shion's opinion, people who seemed to be in control at an age where hormones and frankly disturbing body changes were blissfully wreaking havoc, were _not_ to be trusted.

" _Sooo_ ," Shion drawled, flashing a small grin when Kyoka begrudgingly tilted her head in her direction. "U.A. huh?"

"Yeah. I guess," Kyoka shrugged casually.

She sounded implausibly _less_ interested in her academic learning than Shion; something that instantly endeared the shorter girl to the blonde, and made Shion the teeniest bit bolder than was wise (considering Kyoka's general unsociable demeanour). But alas the lines of communication were open and, even if they were generously interspersed with landmines, Shion intended to forge down them.

"Well, it's just – and don't take this the wrong way or anything," Shion widened her eyes and opened her palms in the universal gesture for supplication, "but you don't seem the type, y'know."

She had hoped that Kyoka wouldn't be offended by the statement. The girl's face was as bored as ever, but there was a tightness to her shoulders and eyes that was hardly encouraging.

"Neither do you," Kyoka shot back.

For reasons beyond her understanding, _Shion_ was a little offended now too. Which made about as much sense as being offended that someone had called her an ineffective jelly filling, because she neither _was_ nor had ever intended _to be_ 'the Hero type'.

"Hey, I'll have you know that I've been putting my knickers on the wrong way since I was at least four!" her outrage was _mostly_ exaggerated.

"Now _that_ I believe," Kyoka snorted.

Shion huffed a laugh. Although she was still a little sore about the accusation, actually getting into an argument with the girl (or _anyone,_ for that matter) was the last thing Shion wanted - especially after the first positive sign she'd seen from Kyoka since they'd met.

"Anyway, let's not get into it," Shion eased back in her seat and smiled crookedly. "I'm not about to grill you for information or anything so relax, y'know. What I _did_ really wanna ask you about was the patches."

"What patches?" Kyoka had eased past open suspicion to a more general kind of wariness that Shion was beginning to suspect was part of her natural character.

"The ones on your backpack? I spotted them at the Entrance Exam straight away!" Shion grinned, and gestured excitedly towards where Kyoka's back was hanging from the other side of her desk.

Kyoka lifted it hesitantly before lifting a dark brow in question, "…these?"

"Yeah! Yeah, those are the ones! Can I see?"

"Whatever, it's not a big deal."

Placing the backpack down with care, Kyoka gave a wary side-eye to her eager audience of one before leaning back so Shion could inspect it more closely.

"Holy _shit!_ Is this the special edition patch for Mutant Rodents? I thought there were only like – five? Six?"

"… Eight," Kyoka replied, a little smugly.

"How many people did you have to kill for _that_?" Shion laughed, but barrelled on before Kyoka could even formulate an answer.

"And no way – a Fishing for Corpses patch? I didn't even realise there _were_ other fans out there! I feel like I've just made first contact with intelligent life!" Shion clutched her chest and wiped away an invisible tear for one wistful second. "Have you heard their new single?"

"Radioactive Mother? Yeah, it's my new ringtone."

"I was seriously beginning to lose hope with them after their second album – the actual music was good, I guess, in a 'all the right _components_ are there' kinda way. But it was too clean, y'know, just had no… _heart_ to it at all. And then they released Radioactive Mother and I was like, holy shit, _this_ is what was missing! This…" Shion paused, laughing nervously as she realised that she'd got carried away. "Heh, sorry, excuse the, er, rabid mouth-frothing. I just wanted to say you've got probably the greatest patch collection known to man."

Shion could have kicked herself, she was too _old_ to be getting overexcited and rambling on. It wasn't attractive. It wasn't cool and composed. It was just _embarrassing_. She braced, awaiting the inevitable 'chill out, it's just a band' spiel she usually received for such childish behaviour. At least she doubted Kyoka would be as violent about it as Hiroto; who used to give her a slap up the back of the head which she'd have to pretend didn't hurt (or run the risk of further teasing) through wobbly laughter, then run to her mother in tears as soon as her older brother's attention was elsewhere.

"No, it's cool. And yeah, I get what you're saying, I'm glad they didn't sell out too but I think they needed that second album to focus them," Kyoka nodded lethargically.

She shifted and averted her eyes in an effort to look unaffected, while obviously uncomfortable with the compliment, "…and my dad gets most of them – the patches, I mean."

Shion blinked. Head resting against her fist, Kyoka blinked back and raised her eyebrows as if to say 'what?' She didn't seem to recognise Shion's over-enthusiasm _as_ an issue. In fact, Kyoka even seemed to be, dare she say it, warming up to her a little.

"Well, if that's the case then there's nothing else for it… you've driven me to this, y'know," Shion breathed.

"Huh? Driven you to what?"

Shion took a deep breath before clasping her hands in supplication, "adopt me. Please."

"…Are you joking?" Kyoka asked flatly, expression grim in the face of Shion's pleading.

"No! At least I'm pretty sure I'm not joking. I would kill my grandmother for _half_ of these. Okay, I don't even like my grandmother but I'm still willing to off a sweet, old lady. Okay, she's more of a bitter, old hag _but_ _still_ …this a pensioner drive-by I'm willing to commit!"

Kyoka's face, hidden from Shion's view, began convulsing and turning purple.

"I'll even sing songs of your greatness if that'll help? Keep in mind I only play the drums so it'll just be me grunting your name and occasionally banging on a cymbal like a demented walrus, and it'll probably be shit – well, yeah, it'll definitely be shit…. _But_ it'll be _heartfelt_ shit, Jirou-chan, and _that_ is what truly matters!"

And it was at that passionate declaration that Kyoka finally cracked up. Shion actually jumped a little at the snorting laugh that emitted from the purple-haired girl, before she began laughing too.

"Demented walrus? What're you banging the cymbal with - _your face_?" Kyoka choked on another snorting giggle.

Shion waggled her brows and smirked, "would blunt force head trauma _help_ my chances?"

Privately feeling a little proud of herself and leagues more relaxed than she had walking into the classroom, Shion settled back with a smile while Kyoka caught her breath.

When she finally did, Kyoka turned to her with a far more opinion expression than she'd seen thus far.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"Koyama Shion," Shion replied, trying to tamp down on the grin. Grinning like a maniac would likely come off as a little too eager.

And Shion _was_ a little too eager for Kyoka to like her. It was difficult to tell with someone so prickly and part of her was already bracing for failure, but it didn't stop the fragile hope. It was rare enough meeting someone with similar music tastes that _wasn't_ ten to thirty years older than her and far more actively anti-establishment than she was ever willing to be, but someone with a dry sense of humour to boot was like discovering a unicorn. And Kyoka struck Shion as the loyal type, someone equally cautious of the dramatics that had plagued friendship groups she'd attached herself to in the past. If Shion could make her laugh (if she could _keep_ making her laugh) then she'd be okay.

At that moment, what appeared to be a human-sized caterpillar with a drug addiction waddled into the room.

"What the fu- "

Shion's mutter trailed off and died somewhere (presumably alongside the man's self-respect). The bleary-eyed look he ghosted over the classroom was a little disturbing, if only because he looked like the type of guy who got banned from stores for inappropriately propositioning the mannequins. Kyoka and Shion watched in silence, mouths agape, as the man wobbled precariously into the room. Surely this was some kind of joke? Then again, Heroes weren't exactly lacking in eccentrics.

The split-ends brushing against his drooped shoulders alone would have driven her mother to homicide – and that was without mentioning the patchy facial hair, dark bags under his eyes and the stale odour of black coffee and unwashed clothes that permeated around him. The man gave off the distinct impression that he'd given up on caring about his appearance or social graces a long time ago.

"Holy shit, our teacher's a trash panda!" Shion whispered, half-elated and half-appalled. "Do you think he goes through the school's bins? Because I'm getting that kind of vibe."

"Shut up," Kyoka smirked, nudging the blonde with her elbow.

Their new teacher (unless he was some random nutcase wandering around the school) grumbled to himself about their manners, as he struggled to free himself from his sleeping bag cocoon.

"I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota," he drawled. "Pleasure meeting you."

It certainly didn't look as though he was pleased to meet them. They hadn't even said anything yet, and he already looked bored and apathetic about their presence. Shion would have been perfectly content regarding him with the same benign repulsion, _had_ he not lifted up the P.E. uniform.

"Wear these immediately. Then shove off to the P.E. Grounds."

Aizawa didn't even need to finish his request for Kyoka and Shion to turn to each other with a look of horror.

/-/-/

Oddly enough, out of everything Shion had seen of U.A. Academy thus far, the girl's changing room was the only place that matched her previous impressions of high school. A long, metal bench sliced through a wall of lockers and tile flooring, a door leading into the bathroom, a short step lead into the showers, and that was it. No high-end gadgets or inspirational artwork; just a persisting cloud of 48-hour deodorant and the clinging stench of Chlorine.

Shion was commenting on this (and by extension, the otherworldly and slightly intimidating cleanliness of the rest of U.A.) as the female portion of Class 1-A changed. She was actually okay about her body. One of the few benefits of her Quirk meant that (although definitely not impossible by any means) gaining weight was rather difficult, the shifting and generating of augmented muscles burned off an almost ungodly amount of calories.

While the other girls were fussing over their bra-sizes or thighs, Shion's particular spot of self-consciousness wasn't exactly something she could cover up on a daily basis without looking like a lunatic. Her face was too round, too apple-cheeked. Her lips were too plump (or guppy lips as Hiroto said, though fortunately they weren't as prominent as _that_ ), her nose too flat and her eyes too narrow and sweeping. No sharp cheekbones or heart-shaped face, no pert, dainty nose or big doe eyes that were typical traits of beauty. They used to call her chipmunk at Primary school, and she'd been called cute on occasion …though solely by older women when she helped carry their bags or something. But she'd never had a sonnet devoted to her rapturous beauty, and she suspected she never would.

It could be worse, Shion argued. She wasn't eye-catchingly beautiful, but neither was she eye-catchingly hideous and, considering who her father and older brother were, she could have turned out looking _far_ more masculine. At least, there was always make-up, right?

Kyoka pulled her out of her thoughts, as she sighed, "do you _ever_ shut up?"

"Sometimes, I guess. When I'm asleep, or watching TV or dead. At least, I _hope_ I shut up when I'm dead," Shion frowned to herself, mildly disturbed. "It'd be kinda creepy if I'm just chatting away in the middle of my funeral, like everyone's crying their hearts out and thinking about how fragile life is and shit while the corpse is complaining about a wedgie, y'know."

"Why would you have a wedgie?" Kyoka scowled distractedly, grunting as she struggled to stuff all her belongings in the locker.

"I dunno, I just always assumed I'd die with a wedgie," she shrugged.

Shion, who was taller than her by a good margin, moved to help and was rewarded with a murmured 'thanks'.

"Top cupboards must be a real challenge for you, huh Jirou-chan? Like your own personal Mt. Fuji," she glanced down at her shorter companion with a grin.

"No," came the frank reply.

"It's cool, it's cool," arms folded behind her head, Shion ambled along beside Kyoka as they headed towards the field, "my little sister, Kiku, is a genuine hobbit too. I mean she's ten, but…"

"Wow, a genuine hobbit? I feel so blessed," Kyoka fussed with her tracksuit, before finally sighing in defeat and shoving her hands in her pockets.

Shion at least had the grace to look guilty, "oh, heh, sorry... b-but I think it's cute anyway! ' _Petite',_ I think is the word Okaa-san would use."

Looking slightly more interested at the indirect compliment (especially since she was feeling body-conscious among her curvier classmates), Kyoka carefully kept her expression neutral as she asked, "is your mom, er…petite too then?"

"Eh?" Shion burst out laughing. "no, _no,_ Okaa-san's boobs are bigger than my head!"

She threw her hands out in an exaggerated approximation of her mother's gravity defying bust. Kyoka snorted, lips curled into a smirk.

By now, the pair had arrived at the grounds where the majority of their classmates were gathered – a mostly barren field, dotted with track markers and various other sports equipment. A crisp, spring breeze carried the smell of chalk and fresh paint, coaxing a new lease of energy in Shion. It might have been her imagination or wishful thinking, but even Kyoka seemed to be warming to her a little… bar the obvious irritation, of course.

"Hugging her was practically an extreme sport when I was little, y'know," the blonde continued. "Suffocation via funbags is _not_ the way I wanna go."

"But being wedgied to death is okay, apparently," Kyoka muttered, smiling a little when Shion burst into laughter.

The small noise of confusion to the pair's right was almost swallowed up by the sound of Shion's guffawing. A black-haired girl glanced at them with something akin to morbid curiosity, before coughing once courteously into her fist.

"Oh, we were just talking about my mom's boobs…which makes sense with context, I promise," Shion felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I'm not some sort of boob fiend."

"I…see," the girl replied haltingly, looking very much like she regretted hearing that bit of information.

" _Smooth_ ," Kyoka smirked at Shion's shamefaced expression.

Deciding to be the bigger person here, Shion grinned and gave a little reassuring thumbs up, "er, I'm Koyama Shion, and I swear I this isn't a regular thing for me."

"Jirou Kyoka, and it probably is," Kyoka added.

"Eh! Jirou-chan, oh ye of little faith! Is that truly what you think of me?"

"Pretty much," the purple-haired girl shrugged, nonplussed.

"My name is Yaoyorozu Momo," the girl dipped slightly with her proper formal greeting. "A pleasure to meet you both."

Kyoka blinked, clearly a little impressed. Shion, however, was not so enamoured. Yaoyorozu was a well-known Hero surname; and although she'd been forewarned that such an event was inevitable, Shion wasn't sure how to deal with the girl standing before her.

Momo was a little taller than Shion's 5'7", straight-backed and (despite ample curves) there was something about the way she held and presented herself that registered as 'trim'. An obvious product of pedigree, Shion felt like she could see the girl's entire past and future forecasted in the controlled distance between herself and someone like Momo. High-achieving parents, an expensive education, then a perfect record as a Hero before retirement with a rich husband in the future. _Yaoyorozu Momo_ had probably never broken out into a cold sweat at the sound of sirens.

Well, whatever. Shion wasn't here to make enemies. She'd been doing a fine job of not thinking about the Koyama family's illegal predilections, too focused on trying to befriend Kyoka, and she was in no hurry to give the game away now.

"Please excuse my rudeness but…Koyama? That name sounds familiar," Momo's thoughtful expression and tone was far sterner than her words would suggest.

Shion's throat bobbed. There was no way Momo could know. Sure, her parents had been in the news far more often than she would have preferred, but their civilian names had never been published. Hanako and Hiroki (or Bonbon and Jaw Breaker respectively, as they were known to the public) had only been arrested and sentenced once in their career (a period Shion would have gladly bleached from her memory if she could), but even then their real identities had remained confidential.

"H-huh? Well, I guess it's a pretty common name," Shion's laugh was a little strangled, and even Kyoka was looking at her strangely now.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit!_

"It's written as 'little mountain,' which is appropriate for my Quirk, y'know, because we look like a mountain when its fully activated. Well, bar the rocks and goats and other mountain-y stuff… Which is everything that makes a mountain look like a mountain, so not actually like a mountain at all. Unless it's a fleshy mountain, which sounds completely disgusting, and I _really_ wish those words hadn't left my mouth," Shion babbled, wishing desperately she could stop. " _Anyway_! Yaoyorozu that's, er... different. 'Interesting' kind of different, not 'I'm in a committed relationship with my goldfish" kind of different, just to be clear."

"Thank you," Momo frowned, somewhat disturbed by the blonde's speech. "Your name is also…interesting."

In the ensuing awkward silence, Kyoka's 'pfft' of hastily muffled laughter was all the more pronounced. Shion was glad at least _someone_ was finding the situation humorous.

As soon as Aizawa announced what they'd be doing, Class 1A erupted into complainants. Honestly, Shion didn't mind. A Quirk Apprehension Test might give her another out. Or, failing that, at least she'd be doing something a little more engaging than sitting around kissing Hero ass, or whatever torture the U.A. curriculum had in store for her. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she smiled and rocked back and forth on her feet while their homeroom teacher argued with a pretty brunette girl.

"If you want to be Heroes, we don't have time for frilly niceties. You all understand the School's reputation for freedom on Campus. Well, that 'freedom' goes for us Senseis too."

Well.

That sounded ominous.

/-/-/

The Quirk Apprehension Test was a mixed bag, to say the least. Shion was possibly the only one to grin hopefully at the news of a possible immediate expulsion. However, (as was becoming a running trend when it came to U.A.) she soon lost sight of her overarching goal. Although, with her augmented leg muscles, she had the speed (though likely not the lung capacity) necessary to ace the running events, Shion had spent much of it jogging back to where Kyoka dwindled at the back.

In fact, chatting had been Shion primary concern for any event where she was placed in the vicinity of another student. A disposition that had not gone unnoticed, if the slight downturn in Aizawa's otherwise miserable face was any indication. On the other hand, Solo events had been a resounding success.

Shion was coming to the rather startling conclusion that in terms of strength, she was easily the strongest person in their class. The green-haired boy who seemed to sweat profusely and oscillate between determination and literally vibrating with fear, may have been competition when at full potential – if his baseball pitch _was_ him operating under full potential, anyway. But barring him and the guy with four arms, there was a very obvious gap between Shion's Grip Strength results and the rest of her peers.

Shion had been chatting to the pink-skinned girl called Ashido Mina when some kind confrontation kicked off but by the time they'd pushed forward to see, Aizawa had already dealt with the situation. She placed 5th overall, due mainly to a lack of flexibility and self-discipline than any fault of her Quirk's. It was a surprising result, not because of her own performance (with a Quirk like Augmented Muscle she had, on some subconscious level, fully expected to place well) but because of her overestimation of her classmates.

Shion had come to U.A. fully anticipating the type of deus ex machina abilities that she associated with Heroes. What she'd received were a couple of power-houses (one of whom, the boy with the spiky blonde hair, seemed more of a dickhead than a shining bastion of Hero values), with the majority of the class compromised by kids that could throw cello tape or talk to animals, or had 'sticky hair'. The intimidating titans of rigid morals and god-like Quirks that she'd expected to be confronted with were nowhere to be seen, replaced by teenagers with mundane Quirks and wavering self-confidence. She could have beaten half of them up on that field had the fancy struck her. Not that she would but… she could of… _if_ she'd wanted to.

As deflating as it had been to discover, it was also oddly reassuring. If worst came to worst and the rest of her class decided to assemble a mob, Shion was now semi-confidant that she could hold her own against the torches and pitchforks. Shion hadn't realised exactly how much she'd held back during sports events at her previous schools, until Aizawa asked her to give it her all and she hadn't been entirely sure _what_ her 'all' was. Her actual limits hadn't even been set, not when the self-imposed ones she'd given herself had always been so low.

It was almost stifling having to change back into her school uniform, and construct that same level of distance and restraint again. Shion smiled wistfully and sighed, strapping on the blocky, studded sneakers before flinging her backpack over her shoulder. U.A. was by far the most tolerant school she'd ever attended when it came to uniform violations.

"Yo! What're you up to, Jirou-chan?" she grinned, shaking off the brief, pensive moment as she jogged over to where Kyoka was scowling at her reflection.

"Nothing," Kyoka mumbled, looking embarrassed at being caught fussing with her hair. "Stupid fringe won't…whatever, doesn't matter."

Shion couldn't see the issue. Kyoka's hair was both pin-straight and thick, a deep purple colour that Shion wasn't above admitting she was a little envious of. Her hair was perhaps Shion's greatest vanity. There were innumerable (and frankly useless) hair products lining the Koyama's bathroom shelves, and Shion spent more time preening and tending to it than was advisable for someone who always seemed perpetually late.

"Eh? What's wrong with it? I thought your hair was pretty cool," Shion shrugged. "I was thinking of getting a bob too, but with my moon-face it'd never work, y'know."

Chin-length had been a style that she'd attempted as a child with poor results; Shion's natural curls had sprung up in every direction, impeding both her vision and any hope of getting a brush through it without feeling like she'd been scalped. Now she tried to keep the curls at bay with length, weight and an armada of sprays. Her fringe was clipped back to the crown of her head, and coaxed into a little bump at the front that she'd seen on models in a few of her father's guitar magazines, while the rest was divided into two low-set pigtails.

"Shut up, your hair's nice," Kyoka rebuked firmly, tone factual and leaving no room for argument.

"Holy shit, was that actually a compliment?" Shion blinked and did a double-take.

The shorter girl only rolled her eyes (looking ever-so-slightly defensive), which made Shion laugh harder. _Note to self: in the future, don't make a big deal out of it when Kyoka pays you a compliment_. The duo meandered outside, Shion holding the door open for both Kyoka and Ashido Mina, as the pink-skinned girl dashed past. Mina offered her a grin and quick, chirpy thanks before sprinting after the blonde boy with the belly-button cannon and odd way of speaking. Kyoka's pace was far more sedate. Shion strolled to match her, content to tap along to a nonsense rhythm on her thighs as she did so.

The silence was broken surprisingly by Kyoka, "what _is_ your Quirk, anyway?"

Shion blinked. Clearly the entire class had seen it in action, but a part of Shion recoiled at the thought of doling out any information that could directly link her to her father. There'd be no harm in confirming it. Anyone with eyes would have been able to make the connection, and it wasn't necessarily a connection that _proved_ anything. Plenty of people had similar or the same Quirk without being immediately related. And yet…

"My Quirk? Oh, it's nothing special, y'know," Kyoka clearly didn't buy her transparent attempt at throwing her off, but Shion hoped she wouldn't dig too deeply about it either. "What about yours? It's got something to do with those ear-noodles, right?"

"Ear…noodles?" Kyoka raised a brow.

"Yeah, those funky little doo-dads," Shion raised a finger and wiggled it curiously at the rubbery appendages hanging from Kyoka's earlobes. "What do they do? They're like earphones or something, y'know."

"They channel and amplify my heartbeat so I can send out shockwaves and, er, I can pick up on sounds quicker," she muttered, twisting one around her finger and doggedly avoiding looking at Shion's expression of open interest.

"Seriously?" Shion grinned, then whistled appreciatively. "So you've got your own portable amps? That's pretty badass!"

They were nearing the main doors now, milling about with the rest of the stragglers and the odd teacher with a harassed expression and arms full of paperwork speed-walking past. In such a mundane setting, it was a little jarring knowing those same teachers were Professional Heroes, like the reverse effect of seeing a teacher slumping around the cereal aisle of a supermarket outside school hours.

"Eh, not avoiding my questions, by the way: weird," Kyoka replied in her typical frank manner.

"There's just not much to tell, and anyway I was thinking, y'know, if it's not too forward, maybe we should swap phone numbers? Just so we can meet up at the gates before class and stuff, yeah?" Shion rushed, the tapping on her thigh increasing to a nervous staccato.

Kyoka stared at her for a long moment, and Shion was sure she was going to refuse. Already forcing her smile to ease into something unoffended and causal, rather than the rejected wilt she could already feel curling into itself at the edges of her lips, Shion braced herself.

"You've forgotten where the classroom is, right?" Kyoka asked flatly, though the small smile suggested she was messing with Shion.

"Ha! True, true but well…you seem pretty cool," she shrugged. "But, y'know, no pressure."

 _Yeah, c'mon Shion, keep it light. No pressure._

Maybe she'd have been better off trying her luck with someone like Ashido Mina. Someone who was already all smiles and bubbly personality, and wouldn't think twice about exchanging contact information (or make it as difficult as Kyoka was). But for reasons that defied Shion's usual penchant for taking the path of least resistance, part of her was resisting the notion of giving up on Kyoka entirely. She was the first person outside her father and brother who she shared a music interest with, she'd genuinely made her laugh and the girl's blunt, unapologetic approach was both refreshing and strangely adorable.

While Shion didn't doubt that she'd manage to slot into another fledgling social group in Class 1A, she suspected that an unintentionally (or at least she _hoped_ it was unintentional) caustic and insecure Kyoka would have more trouble. What if no one else bothered with her? Or worse, what if someone else took her blunt comments the wrong way? Kyoka didn't exactly seem fragile, and certainly didn't _sound_ it, but Shion felt something protective pang dully in response to the thought.

There was a high chance that Shion's efforts were both unwelcome and wasted, but she almost surprised herself with how much she actually _did_ want to be friends with Jirou Kyoka.

Kyoka sighed, "I guess it's alright. _Someone's_ gotta keep you from spending the rest of the year in the wrong classroom."

The burst of relieved laughter wasn't 'keeping it light' by any means. Shion hardly cared. "Alright! Thanks, Jirou-chan, you won't regret this!"

"Then why do I already feel like I'm gonna regret this?" Kyoka muttered back, but there was a definite smirking-smile at the corners of her lips as they swapped numbers.

"Because I lied, and you probably _will_ regret this. Almost immediately," Shion chuckled, flashing a thumbs-up, "I'm gonna update you on every minute of every day, every time I eat, breath and sh-"

" _And_ that's my cue to leave," Kyoka interjected, before waving her off at the gate.

"See you tomorrow, Jirou-chan!" Shion called while walking backwards.

"See ya."

"Not if I see you _first..._ W-wait! Hang on, that doesn't make - no worries, it's cool, see ya, just ignore that last bit!"

Kyoka shot her another amused smirk over her shoulder and shook her head in that aimless way people did when they thought the subject was beyond redemption. Shion, on the other hand, couldn't keep the giddy smile off her face. U.A. hadn't actually been that bad. Maybe if it was like this all the time, she might just make it through.


	4. Shion Koyama vs MATH!

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't copy.

This chapter introduces texting which I've formatted like so:

 **[ Sender:** Message **]**

Not sure if it works, but it was the clearest method I could think of at the time.

Massive thank you to everyone whose followed, favourite-d and reviewed this story so far (especially PLAYERTK who reviewed anonymously so I wasn't able to PM you a thank you directly)!

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. MATH!**

 **.**

" **You were the girl beating up one of those robots with a lamp post, right?"**

 **\- Eijirou Kirishima**

 **.**

"Yo! I'm home!"

The clatter of feet and overpowering cloud of perfume Shion had _anticipated_ , was surprisingly absent. She frowned, still toeing off her sneakers.

"Okaa-san? Tou-san? Anyone home?"

Shion's confusion only mounted as she entered the hallway to find it littered with cardboard boxes, most ripped open and discarded. Were they moving _again_? At that moment, Koyama Hanako pounced.

"Holy shi-!"

"Ah, Shion-chan, welcome back! Just in time! Come on, come on~" Hanako interrupted, already bustling her daughter towards the stairs. "Are you ready?"

 _For anything her mother had planned? A resounding no._

"Er… yeah, I guess. What's going on?" Shion blinked

"You didn't get my text?"

"Nope."

Hanako paused long enough to sigh with gentle disappointment.

"Shion, what's the point of having a phone if you never use it?"

"I _do_ use it," she defended, slightly affronted by her mother's patronising tone. "I'm on it all the time!"

"For music and apps and whatever it is you're giggling about at 11pm, not for what it was actually _built_ for."

It _was_ built for games, apps and giggle-inducing web comics, Shion thought sullenly. She didn't voice her argument though. Bickering with her mother was both futile and exhausting, and she was much too preoccupied with the woman's manicured nails jabbing her relentlessly up the stairs. Shion sulked silently, surrendering to her mother's machinations. All she'd wanted to do was veg out in front of the TV.

"Besides," Hanako continued, "didn't you see the van on the way in? It's parked right outside."

No, she hadn't.

"Yeah, 'course I did."

"Shion-chan, you have literally _zero_ awareness of your surroundings," Hanako admonished. "There could be a murder scene in the kitchen, and you'd walk right through the yellow tape to get breakfast."

"It _is_ the most important meal of the day, y'know."

Her mother sighed, "at least, _try_ to be a little more observant."

Any reply Shion could have formulated died the minute Hanako pushed her through the bathroom door. The pink-haired woman twirled, grinning from ear to ear as she swept out a hand expectantly.

"Ta-da~"

Shion's jaw dropped. Where the bathroom had once stood, was now a vaguely bathroom shaped monstrosity of sparkly granite and blinding studio lights. Half of the equipment looked more suited to rocket propulsion than any usual bathroom activities, and Shion was convinced that a small choir could fit in the tub with space to spare. Mirrors completely lined a single wall for some incomprehensible reason. Shion had never felt the urge to check her soggy ass as it straddled the rim of the bathtub, but apparently her presence of mind came a far second to her mother's atrocious sense of style.

"Gah!"

"So, what do you think?" Hanako beamed.

Shion had been under the impression that 'gah' was expressive enough.

"It's…holy shit, is that a TV? Why do we have a TV in the bathroom?"

"The question, Shion-chan, is why _didn't_ we have a TV before, hm," her mother raised a thin eyebrow, "now we can sit in the bath while the latest drama's on!"

That had disturbing implications as the fifteen-year-old only watched the seasonal dramas with her mother (mortified by the idea of anyone else finding out that she actually _enjoyed_ the over the top, clichéd story lines). Like a wary animal, Shion inspected the rest of the room, prodding at the numerous jets and dials on the elevated tub.

"Me and Hiroki were shopping and saw it and well, next thing we knew the delivery van was following us home," Hanako chattered on. "Besides the other model was getting so _old,_ and this one's a whirlpool design just like a Jacuzzi!"

"And the, er…" Shion wasn't sure _what_ exactly the décor was, so settled for, "rest of it?"

"Just a little redecorating," Hanako waved a hand dismissively. "Do you like it?"

"Why is the toilet seat sparkling?" Shion asked instead, with no small amount of horror.

"It's cute, right?" Hanako clapped, giddy as a child.

"I'm a human being, Okaa-san, and human beings were not meant to fart glitter."

"It doesn't come off, Shion," she rolled her eyes, "it's _inlaid_ inside the seat."

Although she was dreading the next question, morbid curiosity prompted Shion to ask regardless, "how much did this all cost?"

"Never you mind~ Besides, we still had money left over from the last heist and thought 'what the hell'!"

Shion wasn't entirely sure whether she was relieved or not by the vague answer. Frowning, she looked about herself, trying to gauge how much something like a whirlpool bathtub, wall-mounted TV and glittery toilet seat would cost – and immediately discovered that she hadn't the faintest idea. Her father was hopeless with money, and although her mother was as guilty as her husband in terms of shopping sprees, she usually had _some_ form of control when it came to budgeting. Shion had never gone without food while her parents were around, or new clothes and gadgets for that matter either. But it was the _method_ of funding these expenditures that gave Shion pause.

 _It's been awhile, right?_ Shion wracked her brain for the last 'job' her parents had operated. The payoff would have been huge, but so were their spending habits. It only occurred to Shion then that there was no way of knowing how much they'd had to begin with nor how much was left. Something in her stomach fisted anxiously at the suspicion that 'not enough' was the most likely answer.

"We got you a new jacket too~" Hanako sang in an obvious attempt to sway her daughter.

Unsurprisingly, it worked.

"What? Seriously?" Shion's prior frown disappeared in an instant, replaced by a grin.

"Uh-huh! It's on your bed – "Hanako winked before trailing off into laughter as her daughter dashed down the hall.

Shion dropped to her knees in front of her bed and tore off the packaging, before holding aloft her newly acquired footwear to the Heavens as if it were something holy. In her defence, it was a really, _really_ nice jacket.

"Ah! Thank you!" Shion rushed out again, crushing her mother in a one-armed hug.

"You're welcome," Hanako replied primly, smiling as she pecked Shion's cheek, "don't forget to thank your father, he picked it out."

"Cool, cool, where is he?"

"Downstairs, entertaining the bathroom fitters."

'Entertaining' was a polite term for detaining them with heavy-handed charm, offering drinks and telling them anecdotes while they floundered under the combined pressure of her parents' personalities. The vast majority of people who entered the Koyama household, exited feeling overfed and overwhelmed.

"Go say 'hi'," Hanako shooed her with a flick of her manicured fingers. "I'll go order in some food, and you can tell us all about your first day. Oh, and ask them if they want anything, okay? Tell them it's on the house~"

/-/-/

Unsurprisingly, the movers declined the free food and made their excuses as soon as they were physically able. To hear her father tell it, the three men had become increasingly bewildered as they were regulated to spectators, while Hiroki single-handedly strong-armed all the bathroom components upstairs. Although she was sure that part of it was sincere concern, Shion was also pretty certain that he'd just been relishing a chance to show off his muscles.

By the time the food arrived, Shion had just finished helping Kiku with her homework to the best of her abilities (which, admittedly, wasn't much). The Koyama family (minus Hiroto) sat down to share a banquet of Indian food. Hiroki had already snagged three pieces of Naan bread with his massive arms, while Kiku jealously defended her Korma from the greedy clutches of her older sister. Hanako was the only one who ate with any semblance of grace - namely because she'd kick up the largest fuss should any of the others get within breathing distance of her plate.

All four clapped hands in unison, "thank you for the food!"

" _So_ , how did it go?" Hanako finally interrupted the culinary melee. "C'mon Shion-chan, spill, spill, spill~"

"You were right, Okaa-san, it's only inlaid," Shion flashed a thumbs up, "my farts are 100% glitter free."

" **Idiot."**

"Kiku-chan, don't call your big sister an idiot," Hanako scolded before turning back to Shion with a pinched look. "Shion, honey, don't be an idiot."

"Eh, I'm not! I was genuinely concerned about it."

" **Mama, did you get the Grape Fanta?"**

"Oi, Tou-san, pass the Pila rice…please," Shion added belatedly at her mother's glance.

Hiroki grunted (actual human speech impended by a mouth stuffed to bulging with Naan bread), before tossing the still sealed package across the table.

"Hiroki, don't throw food about! Honestly, how old are you! Here you go, Kiku-chan," Hanako passed her the still chilled can, before zeroing back in on her original line of questioning, "you still haven't answered me, Shion-chan."

"Hm? _Oh_ , oh yeah," she tilted her head from side to side, still weighing in on how much she should divulge to her parents. Even Kiku was trying very hard not to look too intent on the answer, glancing from Shion to her plate and back again.

The main problem being Shion wasn't entirely sure what her mother wanted to hear. Her burgeoning friendship with Kyoka had been her biggest take-away for the day; besides that she hadn't really been interested in much else to do with U.A. She couldn't imagine that her detail-orientated mother would be satisfied with such a sparse report.

"I, er, made a friend," she glanced quickly upwards to gauge her mother's reaction. Fortunately, Hanako was smiling still.

"Nice one, Shion!" Hiroki reached across to pat her on the back with one massive hand, "so what's she like?"

" **If she likes Nee-san, she's probably brain-damaged."**

Shion snorted, flicking an Onion Bhaji at the ten-year-old. It landed directly between the eyes and Kiku recoiled in horror, while Hiroki let out a loud, appreciative 'ha!'

"Kiku!" Hanako scolded, "don't interrupt, Shion-chan's trying to tell us about her friend. Carry on, Shion-chan~"

"Well friend _might_ be an exaggeration, y'know. She's not explicitly told me to 'go die' yet anyway, so I'm counting it as a win."

"Strong start!" Hiroki flashed her a thumbs up.

"Thanks Tou-san, I'm hoping to wear her down like a terminal illness- "

"Just a tip, Shion-chan, don't compare your friendship to a terminal illness," Hanako interjected in the same crisp tone she used when correcting someone's makeup.

"Ah, right. Erm... I'm trying to grow on her like a fungus?" Shion asked.

By her mother's soft sigh, this comparison was no better.

"Well, I got her number so _she_ must have been awed and amazed by my superior talking skills," Shion gestured grandly at her phone.

" **People with actual talking skills, don't call them talking skills."**

Shion shot her little sister a look. The irony of someone who was physically unable to talk without striping the surrounding area of any landmarks, giving _her_ socialising advice was insane. That was without taking into account that the ten-year-old was as prickly as a cactus loofah. Still, the limits set by Kiku's Quirk were something of a taboo and, as irritating as the tiny sociopath was, Shion wasn't entirely sure she was offended enough to jab at that particular wound. Kiku's disgruntled sour expression was irritating enough, but Kiku's crying face was far, _far_ worse.

"How _very_ dare you, Kiku-chan!" Shion hammed it up, placing a hand over her chest and wobbling her jowls in mock outrage, "I will have you know, I am perfectly charming! I am the very picture of dignity and grace!"

Eyes averted to hide the fact that she was actually amused by something her 'idiot' older sister had done, Kiku smirked into her plate as Hiroki cracked up. Shion counted that as a victory.

"Not to burst your bubble, Shion-chan," Hanako scolded brightly, "you _did_ just say you were concerned about having 'sparkly farts'."

"And that is a legitimate worry! I don't want to be going about being charming and dignified and stuff while I'm packing a confetti cannon under my skirt! I might take someone's head off."

Hiroki _really_ started laughing at that, tears streaming while he wheezed around a mouthful of Pila Rice. Just the sight of the grown man (never mind the grown man who'd sired her) losing all sense of composure at the mention of flatulence made Shion start laughing too.

Her mother muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'give me strength', before clapping her hands and attempting to reign in the conversation again.

" _So_ , Shion-chan!" she smiled beatifically, but there was a growing impatience underneath those false eyelashes that had Shion shifting on her cushion, "what else happened? Surely, you didn't spend _all day_ making friends."

"Er, no, well we didn't really do much, to be honest with you," Shion frowned as she thought. "... Oh yeah, the Principal called me in first and I thought I was gonna get expelled or something, but turned out he just wanted to make sure I was okay."

Shion had some – no, _many –_ suspicions that that hadn't been entirely the reason for their early morning chat, but she had no way to prove it and speculating with her parents had got her into this mess in the first place. Besides, it wasn't really a topic Shion was interested in discussing, the less said the better. Best to play dumb, and let them make their own assumptions.

"That was it?" Hanako frowned.

"Yeah, pretty much," Shion shrugged, "and then we did some sort of Apprehension test. Turns out I'm strongest one in my class-"

"Nice!" Hiroki cheered predictably.

"Trust me, it _sounds_ more impressive than it is. One of my new classmates shoots tape from his elbows – _tape!_ Unless there's a sudden spree of badly-wrapped presents, I don't get how he'll be a Hero."

Encouraged by her family's distaste, Shion's voice gained volume and emotion as she continued, "and this girl, a kid of Heroes, called Yaoyorozu Momo - she comes across all cool and collected, y'know. The type who's been top of her class for her entire life and probably has a chauffeur, and stuff. Well, she didn't _say_ anything, but I swear I could practically _feel_ her looking down her nose at me."

Leaning back in his chair, Hiroki crossed his arms and scoffed, "no wonder if the kid's parents are Heroes. They're all like that - won't shut up about all that 'helping the poor and weak' shit, but they'd rather spit on a tramp than touch him, y'know. Nothing but lip service - pisses me off!"

He leaned forward then, looking her directly in the eye with an intensity that made Shion a little uncomfortable, "don't let her look down on you, Shion, alright? She hasn't got the right."

"Got it Tou-san," Shion gave a thumbs up, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy atmosphere, "I'll strap on some stilts tomorrow."

"I mean it, Shion," Hiroki didn't even blink, "don't let any of those fuckers think they're better than you."

"Hiroki, language," Hanako interrupted, making cooing noises at Kiku as if trying to soothe a startled animal.

"Relax, Hana-chan. I was only giving the girl some advice," her father grinned, easing back as if nothing had happened.

" **I'm going to bed."**

Kiku's declaration effectively shattered the strange atmosphere. The ten-year-old's face hidden from view by a fringe of stubborn, pink hair as she rose from her seating cushion.

"Eh? Kiku-chan, you haven't even finished your curry," Hanako's hands fluttered as she spoke.

" **I'm not hungry."**

And without another word, Kiku slunk upstairs, head hanging down between her hunched shoulders. What had that been about? While not as gluttonous as her father and older siblings, Kiku wasn't the type to pick at her plate either. Shion's eyebrows knitted with worry. Was her little sister sick? Or was she just sick of hearing about U.A.? Maybe this new attention Hanako was lavishing on Shion was making Kiku feel insecure about her own place in the family? After all, the ten-year-old had been 'Mama's little genius' for so long, Shion had forgotten when it started.

"You were saying, Shion-chan," Hanako prompted and Shion blinked back into focus.

"Huh? Right... _anyway,_ this Momo kid's not even the worst of it, y'know. _Everyone's_ still praising the sun that shines out of All Might's perfectly toned ass, and it's just…sad or creepy. Like a cult. I'm kinda worried that I'll turn up one day and they'll be sacrificing livestock to the God of Utility Belts or something."

"But you had a good day, right?" her mother asked carefully.

Shion immediately realised her mistake. As cathartic as whining had been (especially to someone who was automatically inclined to agree with said whining), both her parents were perhaps a little _too_ oversensitive to the subject. Yes, Shion had felt out of place. Yes, all the Hero trimmings had seemed a little tedious and meaningless to her. But she hadn't felt _attacked_ by any of the other students. Surprisingly, without the Hero focus Shion wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between them and any other group of fifteen-year-olds. Plus, if today's lesson was any indication, it looked promising that U.A. _would_ properly educate her in how to better utilise her Quirk.

On the other hand, maybe it'd be better to tell them both outright that she hadn't had a good day? After all, _they'd_ pushed her into enrolling, maybe it'd do some good for them to both stew in a little guilt for a while. But then again, she already knew what the rejoinder would be: it had been her idea. And Shion wasn't entirely sure whether an overactive guilty conscience and the manipulation skills of a fish were the best combination when it came to reproaching people like her parents.

Besides, it hadn't been _too_ bad, right? It hadn't been great and Shion had been uncomfortably aware of her family background for the majority of the day, but she hadn't had a _bad_ day. Not bad enough to cause anyone else worry, at any rate.

She spent several more minutes fiddling indecisively with her reply, before opting for a smile, "nah, it was fine. Don't worry about it, Okaa-san."

Satisfied, Hanako nodded to herself as if the matter was closed.

"C'mon, Hana-chan, Shion might not look it but she's tougher than she looks," Hiroki winked across the table. "That's the product of some A+ swimmers right there!"

"Urgh, Tou-san, we're trying to eat!"

"What? Don't be a such a fucking prude! It's only a bit of biology, y'know!"

"I think I'm gonna chuck up a 'bit of biology' if you finish that sentence!" Shion begged.

/-/-/

 **[ Shion:** Hey, Jirou-chan! What's up? U at UA yet? I'm waiting by the gate rn, wearing a clown wig, flippers and novelty sunglasses so u can spot me easier B) **]**

 **[ Kyoka:** I hope ur joking **]**

 **[** **Kyoka:** Pls tell me ur joking -.- **]**

 **[ Shion:** U'll never know till u get here ;) Honk Honk Flip Flap **]**

 **[** **Shion:** I don't know wat noise novelty glasses make but gonna assume it's 'Shing' **]**

 **[ Shion:** Just out of curiosity, wat would u do if IDID turn up like that? **]**

 **[ Kyoka:** probably walk right past, lol **]**

Shion chuckled to herself, flipping her phone shut and shoving it back into her blazer pocket. It was the first time she had ever been _early_ to school and, without an established group and in an unfamiliar area, she wasn't entirely sure what to do with herself. Not that she intended to go _inside_ the school until she absolutely had to - unless Kyoka did, in which case she'd have little choice but to follow.

Earphones in, Shion diverted her attention between flipping through music on her phone and watching the steady trickle of students. Blossoms from the nearby trees pin-wheeled across U.A.'s entrance like tiny ballet dancers, dusting the concrete and sun-warmed metal of the bench she was lounging on. Shion was utterly and completely relaxed.

Before actually arriving at U.A., Shion would never have imagined feeling so mellow in 'the heart of the enemy' (cue lightning and evil laughter). When preoccupied with the everyday little details of making friends and choosing the right footwear, and wondering what the lunch menu was like, agonising over the bigger picture just became something she could sort out tomorrow. The weather was pleasant and Shion was in a good mood- torturing herself over something she couldn't do anything about was an exercise in pointless worry.

As if to mock her optimism, as soon as the thought crossed her mind Shion felt a shadow pass over her face and stay there. Squinting, she lifted her head to find herself craning up into the face of the guppy-lipped boy from the Entrance Exam.

And he looked pissed off.

Which made a sum total of 'bugger all' sense to her, until she remembered that he'd looked angry and frantic the small amount she'd seen him then too. Maybe constipated rage was his neutral expression? But that still didn't explain why he'd taken it upon himself to become Shion's personal parasol.

"Oh… yo," Shion prompted, confusion evident in both her expression and tone. "What's up?"

He stood there in complete silence for a minute, and Shion could understand why someone who _wasn't_ capable of arm-wrestling a gorilla (unlike herself) would find it intimidating. The guy was stocky in every way, lips, brow, jaw; shoulders like a pair of bookshelves and heavy, meaty fists.

"Are you the girl from the Entrance Exam? The one that bumped into me?" he finally gritted out.

Shion frowned as she cast her memory back. _Did I_ _bump into him?_ She was pretty sure _something_ like that happened, but the exact details were a little fuzzy.

"Oh! Shit, yeah! Sorry about that, man," she sighed, before grinning apologetically. "You dropped your sweets, huh? I'll get you some more at the cafeteria if you want? To make up for it, y'know."

"'Make up for it'?" he gritted out.

"Well, yeah, I'm guessing that's what this is about…" Shion's brows knotted with confusion.

Why was this guy getting all shirty with her? She'd been apologetic at first but, truth be told, he was beginning to aggravate her. She hadn't done anything to him. In fact, she was even willing to make amends _for_ something she hadn't done – _Shion_ was being a nice person here, and she did not appreciate him throwing her effort back in her face.

"How the hell do you expect to-"

"Heya Koyama-chan!"

Whatever big-lips had wanted to say was interrupted by the bubbly call of one Ashido Mina. Shion grinned and half rose off the bench before she even knew what she was doing, an automatic reaction to the flurry of activity incited by the pink-skinned girl. Mina skipped and jumped to a stop in front of her - something that would have seemed quite childish had anyone else done it, but Mina somehow made it charming.

"Yo, Ashido-chan," Shion smiled, moving to stand fully.

" _Ashido_ -chan? No way, you've gotta call me Mina-chan, otherwise it's just too weird!" Mina demanded amicably.

"Alright, deal. You can call me Shion-chan too, yeah?"

"You got it!" Mina chirped, before finally noticing the silent spectator looming over their conversation, "oh, hey! I'm Ashido Mina, nice to meet you."

Big-lips didn't reply. Looking visibly uncomfortable, he glared once at Shion again before making a hasty exit. Shion would have liked to say she wasn't affected. After all, she didn't know the guy. But the thought of some random student actively disliking her was an uncomfortable, hard pit gnawing at her previously good mood. She wracked her brain for what she could have possibly done to upset him, but couldn't think of anything that would warrant such a strong reaction.

"Huh?" Mina frowned with confusion, then visibly brightened as she turned back to Shion. "Who's your friend, Shion-chan?"

"I dunno," Shion was still frowning at his back. "The guy just came up to me, y'know."

"He looks sorta familiar…" Mina squinted at the boy's broad back.

"Yeah, he was at the Entrance Exam. He didn't say much but he seems to have a problem with me," Shion shrugged, purposely trying not to show how much big-lip's animosity had rattled her.

"A problem with you? No way!" Shion wasn't entirely sure if Mina's shock was exaggerated or not, but it _seemed_ genuine enough.

"Yeah! I know right, I'm pretty damn lovable!" Shion grinned as the pink-skinned girl chuckled. "Well, whatever it is, I'm not _too_ bothered. Although, it's kinda weird considering I don't even know the guy's name or what I've done."

" _Maybe_ he's got a crush on you~" Mina teased, apparently gaining get amusement by the way Shion side-eyed her as if she were suffering a head injury.

"Hmm, well it _has_ been said that I _am_ pretty damn adorable - mainly by me, three seconds ago, but that's not the point," Shion pretended to mull it over. "'Though I'm pretty sure fish-lips would find a better match at an aquarium, y'know. Find a nice catfish lady to settle down with, have a load of guppy babies and stuff."

Mina snorted, "that's horrible!"

Shion was momentarily worried she'd crossed a line, and would be forever labelled as 'bitchy'. Silently panicking over what to say next to amend the impression, she nearly sighed with relief at Mina's next words.

"What're you doing here, anyway?" the pink-skinned girl beamed.

The girl spoke at a words-per-minute speed that rivalled Shion's mother; jumping from one topic to the next, without breaking her stride or the level of energy.

"Ah, just waiting for Jirou-chan. What about you?"

"That's the girl with the earphone ears, right?"

"The one and only," Shion grinned, easing back into the conversation.

"Yeah, she seemed nice," Mina nodded. "I'm waiting for Yuga-kun, but he's taking _ages._ I swear he spends longer on his hair than most girls I know."

Shion blinked, trying to match a face with the name 'Yuga', "…. the boy with the dick laser?"

"Ew, what? No way!" Mina guffawed, partly from shock.

"It's in his belly button, not…" she lifted one hand to point insistently downwards.

"Phew, because that would have made combat a little awkward, y'know."

"A little? It would have been _super_ awkward," Mina snickered. "Ah! There he is now! Gotta go, Shion-chan, see you in class, okay?"

"Yep!" Shion smiled, as Mina dashed off and nearly launched herself at an approaching Yuga.

Rocking back on her heels, she fished her phone out her pocket again and immediately swore upon seeing the new message.

 **[ Kyoka:** Here now, where r u? **]**

"Shit, shit, sorry," Shion mumbled to her phone screen as if the apology would somehow reach Kyoka.

She grabbed her backpack strap and took off in search of her new (maybe? Hopefully) friend before she caused further upset.

/-/-/

"A million apologies, Jirou-chan!"

"It's alright, seriously, just drop it. It's not a big deal, Koyama-san."

"Alright… but I am really sorry, y'know. And _technically_ it wasn't even my fault…"

"Yeah, you've only said it about fifty times in the past five minutes," Kyoka smirked and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you seem more bothered about it than I am."

Shion eyed her warily for another moment, unsure whether Kyoka _was_ honestly willing to let it go or if she was in danger of later retaliation. She'd managed to snag a desk next to the purple-haired girl, which had made profusely apologising easier than if she'd been forced to shout it across the classroom. Although Shion got the impression that Kyoka took her studies more seriously than she did, at least the smaller girl seemed share her preference for the back of the classroom – Shion now sat with Momo-hime (as Shion had mentally dubbed her) diagonally at the back of her, and the hyper aggressive blonde haired boy diagonally in front of her.

Most students were still milling about before lessons started, and Shion spared a longing glance at where Mina and Yuga were chatting away in the seats nearest the window. Maybe she would have been better off trying to coerce Kyoka into sitting over there? Not that she had the faintest idea how she would have gone about that and not that she wasn't happy with Kyoka, but the more the merrier, right?

"We've got English first," Kyoka muttered as she flipped through the timetable Aizawa-sensei had distributed,

"Nice! I'm okay at English," Shion grinned. "Not great or anything, but I can say 'excuse me, where's the nearest toilet?' and a bunch of swear words - what else would I need."

" _Wow._ You're practically fluent," Kyoka murmured sarcastically.

Shion chuckled, beginning to recognise that Kyoka's particular brand of humour was all bark and no bite.

"Actually that's good news, because I'm terrible at English" the shorter girl added after a moment.

Shion was still struggling with the concept that she was more academically gifted in some (read: _any)_ areas than Kyoka -in the blonde's head, sarcasm equalled intelligence and, therefore, Kyoka was some kind of genius- when they were interrupted by a boy throwing himself into the seat at Shion's right. It was the red-haired boy with the wide smile, who'd spent most of pre and post Homeroom hovering around other students' desks.

He blinked upon noticing his audience, and Shion was a little surprised to realise that his eyes were the same deep, bloody red as his hair. Not that unusual eye or hair pigmentation was extraordinary in current society – although ethnically Japanese, Shion's own eyes and hair were a deep purple and blonde (respectively), and pink was a reoccurring hair colour in her mother's side of the family. Those red eyes brightened with recognition and his grin grew as he spotted Shion.

"Hey, it's _you!_ You were pretty cool the other day!" he enthused.

Shion was distinctly uncomfortable at those words, but showing how uncomfortable she was would not help matters in the least. First Momo, now this guy – was she _scheduled_ a heart attack a day. Why couldn't her parents have decided to become florists, instead? Then she wouldn't have needed to step foot into U.A., never mind suffer through a heart palpitation every time one of her classmates accosted her.

 _Play it cool, Shion. If Momo-hime (who's basically the Terminator in a schoolgirl uniform) didn't know who you were, then this guy probably doesn't. Freaking out is only going to make you look guilty or like an ass – and only one of those things is true!_

" _Clearly_ a man who's seen me crush ass on Dance Dance Revolution," she leaned back in her seat to give Kyoka a wink.

Impervious to her charms, the girl only lifted an eyebrow in reply.

"Huh?" the boy's expression creased with confusion. "No, I was talking about the Entrance Exam. You were the girl beating up one of those robots with a lamp post, right?"

Shion could only laugh shakily, partly relieved and partly embarrassed that _that_ was what the guy (and a _cute_ guy at that) had focused on. As useful as her Quirk was, it wasn't the most… feminine of powers. Bulging muscles and the ability to open every jar lid known to man were _not_ graceful or attractive qualities.

" _Not_ generally the reaction to seeing a screaming woman wielding a lamp post…" Shion flushed, still laughing awkwardly.

"Ha! I guess, but seriously good work!" the boy patted her on the back, and while his friendly attitude was appreciated, Shion could not help flinching at the casual contact.

Why was he so earnest? She was a little irrationally irritated that he wasn't picking up on her discomfort, even though rationally she knew the red-head didn't know her well enough to interpret the signs. Being seen as 'cool' (even by a complete stranger, and _especially_ by boys her age or above) was not a situation Shion had ever prepared for nor imagined possible. She was the class clown. The one making fart jokes, and sticking straws up her nose while clapping like a seal for the amusement of others. People _liked_ the clown, and Shion was entirely comfortable with that role. She was not comfortable with the foreign and possibly (read: probably) dangerous territory of being cool.

Shion could only colour further under his guileless scrutiny, eyes darting away and lips twitching with more nervous laughter, "do you, er…. wanna see the ass crushing? _Metaphorical_ ass crushing, I mean. There'd be a _literal_ blood bath if I was hulking out and squashing people's butts like empty cans, y'know."

He gave her a look that clearly communicated that he thought she was a weirdo, and all was right with the world again. Kyoka started making that muffled, gasping noise again that signalled that the shorter girl was expiring from laughter at Shion's expense… again.

"Ah… I think I'm gonna pass," the redhead unbelievably started laughing, rubbing a hand across the back of his head. More unbelieving was that the laughter was neither mocking nor uncomfortable.

"I'm Kirishima Eijirou, by the way," he held out a hand.

"Koyama Shion," she grinned, shaking the proffered limb, before nodding in Kyoka's direction and flashing Eijirou a thumbs up, "and that ball of relentless sunshine is Jirou Kyoka, my future wife."

"Idiot," Kyoka's expression remained neutral, but she flushed with irritation as she smacked at Shion's arm (who'd already dissolved into laughter). Fortunately for him, Eijirou was too far to reach and, therefore, went unpunished for his own boisterous laughter.

"Future murderer, more like," Kyoka grumbled, sounding once again more put-out than actually annoyed. Nothing, it seemed, overly flustered Kyoka. Shion only laughed harder.

"Oi!" the blond sitting in front of Eijirou barked. "Keep it down, assholes - you're pissing me off!"

Before Shion could even begin to decide on whether to retaliate or not, Kyoka snapped back.

"Get lost," the purple-haired girl's tone and expression were still only mildly annoyed.

Shion's jaw fell open.

As the more obviously self-conscious of the pair, she'd had Kyoka pegged as the least aggressive. Shion had even prepared herself to act as Kyoka's shield if need be, attracting and deflecting any outside attacks under the mistaken belief that the smaller girl needed her protection. Kyoka was far more ballsy than Shion had believed - far more ballsy than Shion, in fact. A strange sort of pride welled up inside her throat.

"The fuck did you say to me," it wasn't a question, and the boy's voice had darkened to menacing degrees.

Shion shifted slightly, unconsciously hiding Kyoka partially behind her larger body. Her stomach squirmed. She'd lived with Hiroto for most of her life and this kid had _nothing_ on her older brother, but a fight was the last thing Shion wanted to be involved in.

"Look, I dunno what the issue is but I think everyone's getting a little heated, y'know," Shion raised both hands in the universal gesture of 'please calm the hell down'. "Nobody wants to get into a fight over nothing, yeah?"

"Whatever," the blond spat, twisting in his seat to face the front again. "You shit-munchers aren't even worth my time."

"Asshole," Kyoka muttered, though fortunately she looked just as done with the entire thing as the blond did.

Shion breathed a soft sigh of relief, fully aware that the two had agreed out of boredom than the effectiveness of her peace-making. Still, she wasn't about to prod the beast further.

"By the way, Jirou-chan, that was pretty badass," Shion whispered, expression deadly serious.

Kyoka nodded shyly, hiding her expression slightly as she mumbled, "thanks, Koyama-chan."

This time, Shion knew she meant it.

Shion basked in the heartfelt gratitude for the next five minutes, barely restraining herself from commenting (like she very much wanted to) lest she ruin the moment. She glanced in the blond boy's direction. He had his arms crossed, his chair suspended on its back legs as planted his feet on the lip of his desk as he leaned back, face set in the same perpetually irritated scowl. Shion didn't know what the guy's issue was but, if the near psychotic rage he'd burst into yesterday was any indication, he clearly had some serious anger issues. With him and big-lips earlier, Shion was beginning to seriously doubt that just staying under the radar would be enough to dodge trouble.

/-/-/

Class 1A's first teacher of the day was a polar opposite to their low energy homeroom tutor. Many of the students braced themselves against/under desks as Mic-sensei paraded at the front of the classroom with his stringy legs and ridiculous plume of bleached hair. Kyoka rested her head on her fist as she watched their English teacher with dull eyes and an unimpressed expression; and she wasn't the only one by any means.

Shion squinted. Surely Mic-sensei and her mother _had_ to be related? Besides the Quirk and the fact that Hanako was objectively more pleasant to look at (though there were probably rabid monkeys more pleasant to look at than Mic-sensei's pinched, rodent features), they both shared the inexplicable need to constantly act as if they were the star of their own reality show. Would it make this experience better or worse if they _were_ related?

"All right, everyone, turn to page 65 in your textbooks!" the request was met with a few quiet groans.

"C'mon, c'mon, don't be shy!" Mic-sensei encouraged, making little shooing motions with his free hand.

Education at U.A. thus far was exactly as intensive as it had promised to be. Having only been taught by one teacher, Shion didn't know if this was a direct result of Mic-sensei's full-on personality or if all her lessons were going to be just as demanding. She'd become accustomed to costing through most of her classes, satisfied with the minimum amount needed while the more studious students asked for extra work and the ones having difficulties caught up. At U.A., however, one problem was immediately followed by another then another then another. Anyone stuck behind would have to either ask for help in the brief pauses or revise on their own time.

" _Jack had a younger brother-"_

"Jack ' _has'_ a younger brother," Shion corrected Kyoka's English, "' _had'_ is past tense."

"Ugh, this stuff is so boring," the smaller girl groaned, as she amended the passage.

"Eh, it's not that bad," Shion shrugged.

"Whatever," Kyoka sighed, then eyed Shion. "How come you're so good at this stuff, anyway?"

"What, English?" Shion blinked.

"No, synchronised swimming," Kyoka smirked, rolling her eyes at the admittedly stupid question. "Of course, I meant English."

Shion chuckled.

"Well… I dunno if I'd say I was _good,_ I can only do the verbal examples. Anything written and it just looks like scribbles, y'know," she shrugged, pleased but a little uncomfortable with the praise.

"It's still better than I'm doing," Kyoka muttered.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. You aren't _bad_ at this or anything, just a few mistakes here and there but nothing to get bummed out about, yeah? I mean, I barely manage speaking Japanese most days."

"Besides, the only reason I'm any good with English is because of movies and a few of the bands I listen to have English members, and I dunno… you just pick up on stuff," Shion mulled. "Like Dead by Sundown."

Kyoka watched her with a blank expression for a moment, "…Dead by what?"

"Eh? You've never heard of Dead by Sundown?" Shion gasped, utterly appalled, before hastily scrambling for her phone and earphones.

"Holy shit, Jirou-chan, you're breaking my heart! Their new single came out today and everything. Their lead guitarist is American, right? He does secondary vocals on near enough _all_ of their tracks and he's got this really deep voice – but it's smooth at the same time, y'know like an old Blues singer or something. It's brilliant, you've seriously _got_ to listen."

"H-hang on a second," Kyoka limply protested the earphone attempting to be jabbed in her direction.

"No, Jirou-chan, it's urgent I smush this into your brain mush so that your world may be forever rocked!"

"Yeah, I'm starting to pick up on that 'barely speak Japanese' thing," the shorter girl muttered, brows creased with mild concern.

" **Yo, hey! The chatty little chick in the back, something to share with class, huh?"** Mic-sensei's particular brand of screeching boom interrupted Kyoka's battle with Shion's earphone.

"Eh... no, I was just," Shion stammered. "Trying to help Jirou-chan by showing her an English speaking band… for study reasons…because this is English…and the band also speaks English?"

Shion coughed silently after that profound and eloquent defence. Kyoka slapped a hand against her face and looked heavenward for salvation.

" **Alright!** While that's super admirable and good way to revise, but try to keep the jamming sessions until after class, okay?"

Mic-sensei flashed them a grin and a thumbs up while Shion stared dumbly, stumped as to how and why that poor excuse had worked. Not that she was complaining but…

"Since you're such an eager beaver, you can answer the first questions!"

"Uh… yeah, okay, cool," Shion stood and did exactly that.

The role of tutor was reversed in the following two periods. _Math_ had been the bane of Koyama Shion's education since nursery. At least Snipe-sensei was marginally more relaxed than the flamboyant cockatoo of a teacher they'd had previously; but even then it was more to do with Snipe's reluctance to fog-horn answers or questions across the classroom than any _real_ slack on working pressures.

Shion alternated between fiddling with her pen, to staring at equations with utter bafflement, to pleading with Kyoka. Kyoka was surprisingly patient, though her sighing did increase as it became more and more evident that Shion seemed to be mathematically-challenged on a genetic level. Between Snipe's heavy, Western drawl and square root of whatever-who-the-hell-actually-cares nightmare she was living, Shion's attention span was almost non-existent. Not that Eijirou was faring much better, though the boy did at least seem to be _trying._ Shion noted that his tongue kept peeking out while he furiously scribbled down notes, which was kind of adorable and just a little risky considering the shark-like teeth he seemed to be sporting.

 _Somehow_ (Shion was not ruling out divine intervention) she managed to make it through to lunch time. It was oddly reassuring seeing that U.A. behaved much like any other school as soon as the lunch bell rang, hallways filled with chatter and the dull thunder of a hundred feet. Paired with the morning's lessons and the conversations she'd had so far (which had all been conspicuously Hero unrelated), Shion could be forgiven for maintaining the illusion that she was attending an ordinary High School. It was easier to operate that way, wilfully glossing over the portions of U.A. that would have had her constantly on the edge of paranoia.

"Alright, folks, I reckon that's enough for today," Snipe-sensei drawled, already flipping his book closed with an air of complete ease. "Class dismissed."

Close to tears, Shion closed her eyes and clasped her hands in reverent prayer, "thank you."

Kyoka snorted, "don't be so dramatic."

" _Dramatic_?" Shion squawked in protest as the two girls stood from their desks and started to file towards the door. "I feel like my eyes are _bleeding."_

"After all the whinging you did, Koyama-chan, I'm pretty sure _my ears_ are bleeding," Kyoka sighed.

"Seriously, I think I would have preferred that to – oof, the hell!"

Shion's was rudely interrupted by the blond boy from before, shoulder-checking Shion out of his way. Rather than deign to give them his full attention he paused, hands still shoved in pockets, and tilted his head ever so slightly to look back at them with one malicious eye.

The guy clearly thought he was hot stuff; hot enough anyway that he could push everyone around and get away with it. Shion had seen Hiroto burp out more intimidating things than the blond kid, and with her Quirk the physical threat he posed wasn't that big of an issue. Honestly, she wasn't threatened by _him_ per say, just wary of causing an argument in general.

Whatever the guy's problem was, it wasn't her business and she sure as hell wasn't going to be labelled as a thug even if she wouldn't have minded shoving the dickhead back. She didn't want to get into any fights. The majority of people didn't like being around the type of person who got into fights, and Shion very much enjoyed being around the majority of people. Confrontation was _not_ her forte.

 _Just make life easier for yourself, and let it go._

Pride was a very small price to pay for peace of mind. The blond looked her up and down, before he curled his lip and snorted with derision, and swaggered off down the corridor.

"Prick," Kyoka mumbled behind his back. "Your phone's ringing, by the way."

Shion blinked, "huh?"

"Your phone," Kyoka nodded in the direction of Shion's vibrating blazer pocket. "It's ringing."

Perplexed by who could possibly be ringing her at lunch time, Shion frowned as she flipped her phone open. Her eyes blinked twice in rapid succession before widening.

 _Shit._

"Who is it?" Kyoka asked, brow furrowing and eyes narrowing with a conflicting mixture of suspicion and concern.

Shion grinned, forcing a laugh, "no one. Anyway, where was I in my epic tale of sorrow?"


	5. Shion Koyama vs an Unexpected Phone Call

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

Quick note to say that if Shion seems a little out of character in some of the interactions, it's because I've tried to make her as realistic as possible and therefore she responds differently to different people.

Finally, I'd like to say thank you so much for the continued support! I've received some lovely reviews for this fic so far, and immensely appreciate every single one of them so thank you :)

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. an Unexpected Phone Call**

 **.**

 **"A big... cheese?"**

 **\- Momo Yaoyorozu**

 **.**

 _1 MISSED CALL: UNKNOWN NUMBER_

 _1 NEW MESSAGE: UNKNOWN NUMBER_

Shion swallowed thickly. She'd managed to excuse herself to the nearest toilet as soon as she was able (even performing a little 'I'm desperate for a pee' dance for Kyoka's benefit). The bathroom had been mercifully empty, the only sound was her shoes squeaking harshly against the Lino floor as she rushed into the nearest stall and locked herself in.

'Unknown Number' had been an irregular, recurring presence throughout Shion's life. Ever since Hiroto had packed his bags and left without a backward glance, it popped up occasionally to disrupt her usual schedule. So no, she wasn't surprised. But was she glad? Shion honestly didn't know.

She _should_ be, right?

He was her _big brother_. Her hero, far more than any caped crusader had ever been. Hiroto had been the one to help her out when the rest society had washed their hands of Koyama Shion and Kiku. Of course, she was glad to hear from him. He'd been the _true_ staple fixture for much of her life, and the distance when he first left had been near unbearable. And yet, there was oily feeling of unease trickling down through her gut as she stared at her phone screen. Shion exhaled, shaking out the tiny tremors from her fingers as she opened his text.

 **[ Unknown** : Pick up your phone. **]**

Shion smiled queasily at his familiar bluntness. Familiar but also a little worrying, since there was no way to determine whether he was angry with her or not for missing his call. Shit, she seriously _hoped_ he wasn't angry with her. Shion's leg's bounced with anxiety as she clicked on the blocked number and waited for the call to connect, free hand drumming erratically against her thigh.

"Hey," Hiroto's voice was deep, gruff, the words clipped in a way that implied invisible punctuation.

"Yo!" Shion tried for cheery, but even she cringed at her own overcompensation. "Sorry, I missed your call, I was in class and-"

Nerves still rattling on razor-thin wires, Shion shifted to check the gap between the stall wall and door. Still empty.

"Ditch it."

"Eh?" Shion forced a laugh, unsure if Hiroto was joking or being deadly serious – either option was equally likely.

Ditching at Hiroto's behest hadn't really been an issue in the past but, with Nezu's attention _already_ fixed on Shion, it wasn't really an option at U.A. - she probably wouldn't even make it to the gate before the fuzzy, iron paw of the Principal crashed down on her. But _she_ didn't want to be the one to tell Hiroto that. She also didn't want to tell her mother that she'd been expelled for truancy before her first week had even passed.

 _Rock meet Hard Place._

"You going deaf? I _said_ 'ditch it'," this time, at least, she was fairly certain he was joking. His voice was farther away which meant that she was speaker, so he was either driving or… otherwise occupied.

"Ha! Yeah, I mean no but… erm, I don't think I can ditch here. They're pretty up on their security and stuff," Shion hedged. "I-it's not as simple as that, Onii-san, I can't just _walk_ out."

There was a sharp, metallic click followed by a deep exhale; Shion could almost smell the heavy, woody smell of his tobacco as she listened to Hiroto light a cigar. Her stomach clenched, toes bouncing against the floor as she anxiously awaited some kind of indicator of his mood. In the nauseating silence, she could pick up on the sound of muffled traffic coming from Hiroto's end. _Driving, then._

She pictured him with one beefy arm leaning casually against the open window of one of those muscle cars he seemed to love so much, while the other rested heavily atop the steering wheel, eyes squinted against the sunlight as he surveyed the traffic with a bored, predatory glance. At ease and dangerous, like a big cat lounging in the sun. Shion felt like he couldn't have been further away from the soft, artificial lighting and sterile whiteness of the female bathroom at U.A.

"Why not? Who's gonna stop you," he finally replied.

It was so typical of Hiroto that she laughed.

"The teachers might."

He snorted, "shit, our Quirk's wasted on you."

"I'd say I resent that, Onii-san, _but_ it's probably true," Shion sighed. "… I can open some pretty mean pickle jars though, y'know."

"Brat," Hiroto chuckled, and Shion felt the knot in her stomach loosen ever so slightly. "I'm heading to Fukuoka soon. I'll pick up your sorry ass, if I'm not too busy."

Shion's earlier tension bubbled immediately into childish excitement.

"What? Seriously?" she grinned.

"That's what I said, ain't it."

"Yeah, I know but it's been ages since you last visited! Have you spoken to Okaa-san and Tou-san yet? They're gonna be so pumped! When do you think you'll-"

"Oi, relax," Hiroto commanded. "Like I said, I'll get there when I get there."

"Sorry, sorry," Shion laughed, fisting her free hand in an attempt to plug the conflicting burst of happiness and embarrassment _at_ said happiness.

She paused before adding softly, "I've just, y'know… I've really missed you, Onii-san."

"Wuss," he snorted fondly. "Gotta go, Shion."

"O-okay, see you soon!"

And with that the call disconnected. Shion exhaled deeply, feeling spent as she often did after any proximity to Hiroto. Part of her recoiled from it, from her obvious need for his approval even after all these years. It was only afterwards, when she could reflect away from the sudden warm spotlight of his attention, that Shion had the presence of mind to be ashamed of her behaviour – acting like a small child again, her happiness living and dying on her brother's fickle moods. She didn't know why she still did it. It must irritate him as much as it did her, right? Extra baggage he hadn't needed or wanted after their parents' arrest. _Pathetic. No wonder he hardly called._

For a brief moment, Shion powerfully wished he hadn't called at all. The day had been going fine, why did he have to keep crashing into her life without warning and throwing her completely off balance? She didn't _want_ to act like that! She didn't _want_ to be that person, needy and oversensitive to his moods. It was demeaning. Shion didn't mind being the butt of the joke as long as she was laughing along too. And now, she had to go out there and carry on with the rest of the day while agonising over whether he'd turn up or not, or what kind of mood he'd be in, or what she would say or do to keep his attention. Things that _he_ probably wouldn't think about until it suited him, if _at all_.

And the worst part? None of it would matter, her outrage or her embarrassment or the keening sense of separation when he left ( _again_ ), because when/if Hiroto did turn up she'd just be stupidly happy to see him again. She wouldn't want to ruin it. She wouldn't want to upset him or push him away. She wouldn't want him to hate her.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but… are you alright in there?" Kyoka's voice jerked her from the downward spiral of her thoughts.

Shion jolted up from where she'd been staring dead-eyed at the stall door, before scrambling out and back into the hallway.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. All good!" she flashed a sceptical Kyoka a thumbs up.

"Are you sure? You sound a little…" Kyoka squinted as she searched for the right word, "off."

"Eh? _Nah,"_ Shion waved her off, before grinning, "I'm good, honestly!"

Kyoka gave the blonde's uneasy grin another flat, scrutinising look before shrugging. Shion almost deflated with relief. She didn't want to think about Hiroto at the moment so she wouldn't. She wanted to pack Hiroto and all the complicated, conflicting emotions he stirred up into a little box and neatly store it somewhere in the back of her mind until she was forced to peek beneath the lid.

Maybe it was a little childish, but it was a technique that had been working for Shion for years now and she wasn't in any rush to fix something that wasn't broken. As tempting as moping was, no one wanted to be around such a downer for extended periods of time and the very last thing Shion wanted to do was isolate herself.

" _So,"_ Shion began, hoping to draw Kyoka's attention away from the little blip, "lunch? We've gotta eat _something_ before I start picking off our classmates."

"If you're gonna eat someone, can you make sure it's that blond kid? He seemed like such an ass," Kyoka replied, expression sour, as the pair started walking.

Shion presumed that Kyoka knew where they were going since she hadn't the foggiest, and the identical, pristine hallways were not the easiest to navigate. Shion's steps were an oxymoron of an easy slide peppered by the odd erratic, excitable bounce or twitch. In contrast, Kyoka walked with purpose but no hurry like she had all the time in the world.

"Uh, dude would fight me the entire way down - probably come out screaming and try to strangle me with my lower intestines or something," Shion grimaced. "I choose life!"

/-/-/

Unsurprisingly, the Mess Hall was Shion's favourite room in U.A. Academy. Thanks in no small part to her ongoing love affair with food, and the comfort of constant chatter emitting from the hall like a warm buzz. Unlike her stalwart companion, Koyama Shion felt far better in crowds. It was the intimacy of one-on-one conversation that made her uncomfortable.

The Cafeteria itself was flanked either side by windows, overlooking the neatly regulated greenery outside and flooding natural light over the rows of long benches. It had more personality than most of the rooms Shion had previously seen, with deep red accents, curving stairs leading onto the upper level and a huge Deco flair backing the service window like some cartoonish Organ. Yet by far, the most enticing thing about the Cafeteria was the smell. Another puff of steam from the kitchens fragranced the air with herbed chicken, an after bitterness of oranges and the impression of crisp, cooked skin.

As they approached the line, Shion breathed in deep, closing her eyes and smiling with bliss. Maybe the whole headache of enrolling in U.A. was worth it for the food?

Kyoka snorted, "close your mouth before you start dribbling, Koyama-san."

Shion was just about to protest the hideous (and completely accurate) character portrayal, when they were interrupted by a polite cough. Yaoyorozu Momo fidgeted for a second under their combined scrutiny before visibly rallying her courage.

"This may be a little forward, but I was wondering if I could eat with you both?"

Shion blinked.

She'd really prefer it if the black-haired girl didn't sit with them, but neither did she want to seem like an asshole in front of Kyoka. Momo hadn't _actually_ done anything to earn Shion's distaste but there was just something about the other girl, a certain aura of elitism, that made Shion feel like an unfunny clown or a small child in her company. The benefit of doubt was a nice notion in an ideal world, but in reality Momo was _exactly_ the type of person to be the first to pass judgement on people like Shion's parents – and therefore she was _exactly_ the type of person Shion wanted to stay as far away from as possible.

" _They're all like that – won't shut about all that 'helping the poor and weak' shit, but they'd rather spit on a tramp than touch him, y'know. Nothing but lip service – pisses me off!"_

"Sure," Kyoka shrugged before Shion could even untangle a reply.

The blonde struggled not to show her irritation, focusing instead on the meals on offer. It took longer than it should have to pick out something to eat. With so much variety available Shion was more indecisive than usual, flitting about and changing and interchanging her menu repeatedly until Kyoka grew frustrated enough to plonk something on the blonde's tray and shove her towards the till. Despite Shion's attempts to pay for both Kyoka and Momo's meals (the latter as an obligation rather than any real desire to), she went mostly ignored.

"Seriously, you shouldn't do that," Kyoka scolded as the three girls set off to find seats, trays in hand.

"Do what?" Shion sulked. She was still a little sore about being brushed aside so easily, and wondered if Kyoka's exasperation was due Momo's presence. _It probably was Yaoyorozu's fault… somehow._

"Offer to pay for everything," Kyoka replied. "Someone could take advantage of you. How do you have the money for all that, anyway?"

"I dunno," Shion shrugged.

Eventually they found a seat at a relatively empty table, and Kyoka and Momo started in on the pleasantries while the bulk of Shion's attention was preoccupied with her food. Originally, she'd been following the topic of conversation, but somewhere between her second plum rice-ball and BBQ beef cuts Shion had lost track of the subject altogether.

"- impressive yesterday, Koyama-san."

Shion's head darted up, a grain of rice still clinging stubbornly to her rounded cheek, "huh?"

"Your performance during the Apprehension Test, it was impressive," Momo reiterated.

"Uh… thanks, I guess," Shion squirmed under the taller girl's magnanimous attention.

As a general rule, she didn't enjoy talking about her Quirk, but she _especially_ didn't enjoy discussing it with strangers. As cool as Muscle Augmentation was on paper, in Shion's experience it mostly involved bulking up to freakish proportions and punching things – neither of which were typical or attractive qualities in teenage girls.

She squirmed further upon noticing the dainty way Momo was pacing herself through her own meal, her movements practised and concise enough that not even a crumb had escaped her plate. Shion's eating habits were animalistic by comparison. _Great._ Embarrassed and annoyed by both her own lack of grace and Momo's apparent abundance of it, Shion directed a frown at her half-eaten food.

Momo sounded very much like a textbook as she continued, "it looked like a versatile Quirk, proficient in both offence and defence, although you could do with applying a little more concentration to the task at hand. There were several instances where you could have performed better if you hadn't been preoccupied with conversation."

Shion scowled, her cheeks colouring with a mortifying concoction of both anger and shame.

Did she _ask_ Momo for her any damn advice. Why did she care? And more importantly, how was it her business? Where did _she_ get off trying to tell Shion how to handle her own Quirk, huh? It wasn't like she wanted to be here, _anyway._ As for all that 'being preoccupied with conversation' shit, well maybe Momo should have spent a little more time around _actual_ people than whatever advanced encyclopedias that Shion was sure were perfectly shelved in her perfect bedroom, so she wouldn't be such a bore.

"Jirou-chan's Quirk is pretty badass too, y'know," Shion's statement was punctuated by a particularly vehement stab at her next steak slice. "They just weren't the kind of tests where a Quirk like hers would score well, that's all. You'd think U.A. would be a bit more _inclusive_ about stuff like that, huh?"

"I – I suppose you would presume that, yes," Momo replied seeming a little taken aback by the sudden undercurrent of hostility in the blonde's tone.

Kyoka's expression was far more openly suspicious. After all, she'd yet to see Shion acting anything even approaching aggressive, even when that blond boy had openly provoked her. So what was it about Momo that triggered such a reaction?

Belatedly realising her mistake, Shion shrugged and forced a smile, "but whatever, right? It all worked out in the end, anyway."

Her next question probably wasn't the brightest idea, but Shion couldn't help asking, " _so,_ you're kind of a big cheese right, Yaoyorozu-san?"

"A big… cheese?" Momo echoed with confusion.

"Like, er, a big deal, because you know about Quirks and stuff."

"Well, my parents are Professional Heroes but I'd hardly say I was anything impressive compared with some of the others in our class, such as Todoroki-san," Momo replied, tone an interesting fix of morose and self-conscious.

Shion instantly felt a little vindicated. _Hero parents - called it._

"Todoroki-san? That's the guy with the burn?" Kyoka asked.

Momo nodded, eyes flicking to a head of red and white hair hunkered down at one of the other tables. He was sitting alone, body language closed from all the chatter surrounding him and attention focused single-mindedly on his food. It was a demeanour more reminiscent of a inmate just trying to get through his time, than a school boy trying to get through his Ramen. Shion didn't think he looked all that impressive. From her limited glimpses of the guy (bar the shiny scar tissue spanning half his face), he'd seemed pretty nondescript.

"Is _he_ some kinda big cheese?"

"Of course, Todoroki-san is the son of Japan's number two Hero, Endeavour, " Momo replied with the same staunch seriousness Shion was coming to expect from her.

 _Shit, just what I needed – the son of some ultra-powerful, sociopathic Hero._ Endeavour was pretty infamous among the Villain community, one of those no-nonsense Heroes that couldn't be brought or persuaded towards leniency. She scoured her brain but couldn't remember a single News report where he'd smiled – even for a moment. For someone with a fire-based Quirk, the guy seemed awfully cold.

There had to be some kind of irony in that, right? On paper, Endeavour would no doubt trump someone such as Koyama Hiroki - string of juvenile offences, expulsions, assaults and general delinquent behaviour, before seemingly mellowing out after his arrest for the only _documented_ act of Villainy on his file. On paper, Todoroki's father was the shining beacon of moral integrity while Shion's father was a thug, the type of person you'd hesitate to trust with the welfare of a sandwich never mind a human child.

And yet...

Yeah, her father wasn't perfect but she never doubted that he loved her. _She_ wasn't the one sporting a facial disfigurement, an empty table and a thousand mile stare - which necessarily, might not have been directly linked to Endeavour's parenting skills, but Shion wasn't generous enough in her estimation of the Hero culture to err on the side of doubt. If his interviews were anything to go by, ol' flaming beard had all the nurturing qualities of a dumbbell. At the very least, she certainly couldn't imagine the guy hugging his son the way Shion's father blanketed her in heavy-handed affection.

So, how would that work out with Momo-Hime's justice parameters? She was almost tempted to ask, to bait the pony-tailed interloper, but that would involve bringing Shion's own upbringing under investigation and she wasn't entirely sure it'd pass Momo's presumably high specifications.

 _Best to play it cool._

Shion frowned slightly, "huh… so he's not really a big cheese, but the important cheese-ling _of_ a big cheese? Hey, I wonder if they've got anything with cheese in – I'm gonna go check… to make sure, y'know. Do you guys want anything cheese-related?"

 _Cool as ice, Shion, well played._

Kyoka was frowning at with mild concern, "has anyone ever told you that you might have a serious problem?"

"Well, I've never been checked, so who's to know," Shion shrugged and laughed. "I just really like cheese - most dairy foods to be honest. Like, at Primary School, I used to finish off the milk cartons if anyone else didn't want them or something, y'know. Heh, that reminds me of this cool party trick I used to have where I'd shoot milk out of my –"

"If you answer with anything below the waist, I'm leaving," Kyoka warned flatly, expression unimpressed.

"Out of my _nose_ , Jirou-chan, I'm not some kind of heathen!" Shion laughed.

An insistent, electronic ringing interrupted. Kyoka and Momo started dutifully cleaning their trays, while Shion stared at the offending Lunch bell with despair.

" _Eh, already?_ But I'm not finished eating!" Shion whined.

Kyoka rolled her eyes, "come on, Koyama-chan."

Grumbling to herself, Shion stuffed a few extra rolls into her mouth before scampering after the pair.

/-/-/

Having All Might prance into their classroom with all the exuberance of an overexcited eight-year-old was like taking a blow to the head. Shion just sat there with her mouth gawping open. Not with awe like the majority of her classmates, but because she was struggling to relate the human personification of Word Art currently flexing about their classroom with the scourge of every professional Villain on the planet.

 _People_ weren't meant to be like All Might in real life – no one could be so cartoonish, so high energy all the time. It just didn't make any sense. Did he shout catchphrases when he was taking a dump? Did he go grocery shopping in platinum boots and an ever-billowing cape? Did he check DIY books out of the local library with a perpetual teeth sparkle effect?

Shion wasn't entirely sure how to feel about All Might. It was like trying to come to an immediate decision on a Cruise Liner that had just exploded into your bedroom at 6am.

" **Foundational Hero Studies!** " All Might inexplicably yelled – as if any of them were capable of forgetting where they were while he was brandishing his biceps at them. " **For this class, we'll be building up your Hero Foundation through various trials!** "

" **Let's jump right in with this – THE TRAIL OF BATTLE!"** All Might wiped a shining card from who knew where (it didn't look like his costume had pockets, and the… _rear_ option wasn't something Shion wanted to contemplate).

 _Shit._ Shion didn't dislike fighting ( _physical_ fighting anyway, as she had a nasty tendency to start bawling without prior warning during a verbal spat). What Shion _did_ dislike was the inevitable aftermath that followed a fight when you were capable of bench-pressing a motorbike.

Whatever fledgling friendship she had with Kyoka could go up in flames should Shion get a little too carried away with her Quirk. Even _if_ she managed to refrain from any instinctual reactions that years of rough-housing with Hiroto had instilled, there was no guarantee that her classmates' opinion of her wouldn't change irrevocably after they'd seen her beef up and hulk out. It was far too optimistic by even Shion's standards to think that they wouldn't at least be a little warier around her than they'd been previously.

Maybe she would have been better off ditching when Hiroto called?

And then she immediately felt sick again, because she was thinking about Hiroto while trapped in a classroom with Japan's number 1 Hero and 20 Hero wannabes. If her brother could have seen her at that moment, she wasn't entirely sure who he'd start swinging his fists at first - her or _them._

Oblivious to Shion's inner turmoil, All Might continued, "and to go with your first battle... we've prepared the gear we had you send in requests for to match your Quirks!"

"Our battle gear! Awesome!" Shion's head popped up at Eijirou's cheering.

Shion had _some_ notion of what was in her own little box, but the majority of the design process had been firmly and immediately apprehended by her mother. She thought of the Glitter inlaid toilet seat back home and went pale. Her parents' own costumes were as raunchy as they could manage without broadcasting their identity, and equally ridiculous. Shion thought of her brother's text again. Expulsion didn't seem so bad an option when rampant nipple slips was the alternative.

All Might dolled out instructions, while Shion mentally listed all the ways her life was potentially over. The last words she heard before she was shepherded towards the changing rooms was All Might's echoing message:

" **And don't forget! From here on out, you're all officially HEROES!"**

Five minutes and an auspicious lack of spandex later, Shion did not feel all too much like a Hero. But she did _look_ somewhat like one... if said hypothetical Hero was also moonlighting as a heavyweight boxer.

Her costume mostly consisted of a black play suit; the bottom looser and more velveteen mimicking a boxer's shorts complete with white stripe along each side, while the top half was sleeveless, hooded and had overly-large zip running along the front. Underneath that was a dark purple Bandeau that her mother had clearly intended to be more on display, but Shion had settled for zipping up until there was only a small triangle of bare flesh underneath the band.

On her feet were a pair of purple and silver, reinforced high-top boxing boots complete with the stitch work of laces. On her hands were fingerless grappling gloves, and a silver belt with a mock Champion disk hung around her waist. The material from gloves to boots was breathable and, most importantly, flexible enough to deal with her Quirk. While it did offer that extra support, Muscle Augmentation was Shion's primary shield against attacks and her costume needed to be versatile enough not to hinder that.

It was uncharacteristically restrained for her mother's tastes, and Shion was touched by the amount thought Hanako must have put into it. How long had she sat there thinking about her daughter's preferences and how best to keep her safe?

Smiling to herself, Shion was unprepared for the sudden wave of homesickness. _No, don't start blubbering._ Inhaling deeply, she rallied against the strangely potent urge to call her parents and tell them to break her out of U.A.'s changing room.

Before calling her mom and dad, before rushing home for this month's weekday Drama, before teasing Kiku about that sensitive J-Pop singer the ten-year-old was crushing on, before wasting an hour trawling through the Heavy Metal forums she was prescribed to, before showing Kiku whatever cat video that had inevitably distracted her away from her homework, before working out how to work the whirlpool bath and getting into her pyjamas and heckling her dad into letting her stay up an extra hour while her mom was distracted by her needlessly complicated moisturising process - _before_ _all that..._

...Shion needed to focus on not accidentally kicking the shit out of one of her classmates.


	6. Shion Koyama vs the Asparagus Lovers

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

I'd just like to point out that Shion's more than a little unfairly Anti-Hero in this chapter. Not because I intended to use her as a soapbox platform, but because it's predominantly _in_ Shion's POV and those are her views on Heroes.

Finally, thank you so much to everyone who's followed, favourited and reviewed! This story has received way more attention than I ever anticipated and I'm honestly very grateful to anyone who's taken the time to read it :)

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. the Asparagus Lovers Convention**

 **.**

 **"I, er, don't think catchphrases are my thing."**

\- **Koji Kouda**

 **.**

When Shion was thirteen she and some former friends from one of her _many_ previous schools had tried to sneak into a gig. Shion hadn't been even remotely interested in the band playing – some bubble-gum J-Pop group that lacked a respectable quantity of lyrics involving death and carnage for Shion's liking. However, Shion had had both the surplus cash and had been relatively new enough (and desperate enough, she'd admit) to both fund and accompany the expedition.

They hadn't got far. Despite numerous online articles reassuring them otherwise, an obscene amount of makeup and a couple of stuffed bras were _not_ a foolproof cocktail capable of confusing bouncers. Shion had never forgotten that long wait outside the gig, that tingling, pins-and-needles mixture of excitement and self-consciousness as they eyed everyone else and tried to spot who was eyeing them. For a brief moment she'd felt like she was on the cusp of something - not adulthood exactly, but perhaps that glittering inbetween stage that had been promised via music videos and magazines and TV, where everyone smelt wonderful and exotic, and had the perfect hair and the perfect clothes, and interesting opinions about everything that was worth having an interesting opinion about.

Lining up outside the mock city from the Entrance Exam with the rest of her costumed classmates felt a little reminiscent of that anticipation. Except this time, she was _aware_ of how ridiculous and out of place she looked, and therefore appropriately exchanged 'teenage idol dreams' with 'accidentally gone grocery shopping in her pyjamas'.

It didn't help that everyone else looked so into it.

Grinning, clapping each other on the back, exuding an air of accomplishment – looking for all the world like they'd earned themselves a cereal commercial deal after another rousing bout of Heroics. Most of them were convinced that they were halfway to Hero already, when the greatest battle they'd probably faced thus far was against a sudden onslaught of acne. Shion had always been under the impression that the size of participators usually eased the size of the embarrassment, but it didn't matter how many of them there were or if their outfits were more goofy-looking than hers – the math only worked when you were _aware_ of the joke.

Honestly, Shion felt a little sorry for them… more than a little embarrassed by proximity too, but she _kind of_ got it. She remembered the first time she'd nailed a drum solo and promptly informed her parents that she had been sent down by some rock deity to melt both minds and drumsticks, but this was…

Being a Hero's a legitimate job, she understood that, but this was…

Maybe she got the wrong end of the metaphor. Maybe _she_ was the eighteen-year-old feeling a little uncomfortable while queuing next to a bunch of giggling preteen girls trying to sneak into their first gig. Or maybe she was in the wrong here? Popular census was generally the correct census (or the only one that _mattered_ anyway), and Shion certainly played the odd one out. In a fair world, her spot at U.A. would have gone to someone who would near piss their pants at the opportunity to wear a cape and get enthusiastically screamed at by the world's top Hero. Instead, Shion was cringing in the corner like she'd inadvertently signed up for the Annual Asparagus Lovers Convention.

"Yo, Jirou-chan," Shion smiled, jogging lightly towards the potential port in a storm of mortification.

Kyoka's costume, at least, looked somewhat normal. Shion had always been a big admirer of leather jackets, and the huge, clunky boots certainly helped.

"Holy shit, nice costume!"

The blonde laughed not unkindly when Kyoka rolled her eyes and blushed, "no, seriously! With the boots and the jacket and stuff you look like some kind of… rock... mime... type person. That probably sounded better in my head."

" _Probably,_ but thanks, Koyama-chan," Kyoka smiled.

" _So,_ everyone looks pretty pumped, huh?"

What she'd meant to say was everyone looked pretty ridiculous, but she wasn't entirely sure if Kyoka fitted in the 'feeling awkward category' like Shion of the group or the 'super keen category' with everyone else.

"Well, yeah, it is the first time we're in our costumes," Kyoka shrugged.

 _The latter category then._ The taller girl tried not to be too disappointed that even Kyoka didn't share her reservations.

At least, Shion wasn't the most scantily clad one there. In fact, the boys seemed to be taking the lead by a slim margin when it came to the 'flashing the ass' quota– a revelation that momentarily distracted the blonde when she finally glanced about to find herself surrounded by a surprising amount of well-toned arms. Boy arms. With muscles and everything.

"I'm liking everyone's styles!" announced All Might. " **VERY COOL!"**

Flushing, Shion whipped her attention away from Eijirou's bare stomach, which she was determined not to stare at like some sort of stalker _despite_ it being unfairly stare-able. _Was that even a word? Stupid, glorious biceps, completely muddling my mental dictionary!_

"Sensei!" a guy in some sort of Gundam get-up (Shion had no idea who) interrupted urgently. "Regarding the performance grounds we'll be using, is it the mock-city from the entrance exam?"

It was the surety with which he asked -that confidence that he already knew the answer and was only broadcasting his intelligence to the rest of the class and his tutor- that identified the square-headed boy with glasses, rather than any real physical markers. Shion got the impression that he was one of those kids in primary school who used to bounce in their seat and wave their lifted arm up whenever they the teacher asked the class a question.

" **You'll see – in fact, take two steps and you'll be there! This will be an indoor battle!"** All Might answered.

 _Shit._ An indoor battle meant close quarters, close quarters meant a larger margin for error, and a larger margin for error meant an increased likelihood that she'd seriously screw-up somehow and end up gravely injuring a classmate.

"Villain clean-up is usually seen out in the open, but statistically the better part of it is an indoor job. Most acts of villainy are committed indoors. Imprisonment, house arrest, the Black Market; in this Hero-saturated society, why any Villain with intelligence is lurking in the shadows!"

At All Might's explanation, Shion felt a familiar irritation. Like consistently losing at a sport you _knew_ you were never going to have any competing in, Shion _knew_ exactly what was going to happen and yet (despite herself) deep down she was still a little disappointed by the results.

She was in a _Hero_ school. This was Foundational _Hero_ Studies. How the hell she could have expected anything else was beyond her, and in truth All Might's wording was far less condescending and/or disdainful than Shion could have realistically hoped for. In fact, she'd even go so far as to tentatively call it 'fair'. _Tentatively._ If he had not used the word ' _lurking_ '. After 'lurking', the 'in the shadows' portion seemed pretty redundant in adding that movie monster slant to what were, in fact, _real_ people. Not the best people -even Shion wasn't willing to argue in favour of murderers and rapists- but _people_ nonetheless.

Would he have used the same verb to describe a group of Heroes? Shion couldn't be sure, but she doubted it. She couldn't imagine her parents _lurking_ anywhere any time soon, and the thought that ten years in the future anyone from her class could see them (or potentially her and Kiku, for that matter) as something intrinsically malevolent made her feel small and old and a little more done with U.A. Academy entirely.

 _No, c'mon, deep breath, shake it off._ _It's not that big of a deal._ The only person she could _really_ be annoyed at was herself, for secretly believing that U.A. would be any different to what she already _knew_ it would be. No point getting angry over something that hadn't changed in years, and she had zero ability to change anytime soon. Being the only exception in a room full of Hero fans had been the modus operandi from day one - only difference now was that the lessons were geared directly towards the big, unpleasant blemish she'd _really_ rather avoid.

"Eh?"

Shion's thoughts were quite suddenly and rudely interrupted by a wet plop on her shoulder. Suspecting the worst, she slowly craned her head to find all her fears confirmed.

"K-Koyama-chan, did that bird just…." Kyoka was already choking on barely restrained laughter.

Shion's face greyed, expression frozen in exaggerated horror as she stared at the sizeable dollop of bird shit now decorating her playsuit. She couldn't even have an internal monologue without life reminding her she was the comic relief.

/-/-/

Despite his usual eccentrics, when describing their task All Might was surprisingly concise. It all boiled down to a game of Catch the Flag involving a team of two Heroes, a team of two Villains and a fake nuclear device. Villains' objective was to protect the 'missile' until the time was up, or capture the Heroes. Heroes' objective was to capture the 'missile' before the time was up, or capture the Villains. Simple. The teams not currently competing were shuffled off into the basement level of the building to monitor their peers' progress on an array of fancy monitors.

Koyama Shion, however, was not looking at the monitors. Because Koyama Shion was the unassuming victim of a malicious turd bombing, and no one cared. Which wasn't something that would normally bother her _too_ much, in fact, she'd probably be cracking jokes about it at any other time. But she was feeling a little vulnerable and excluded with all this Hero training, and wanted someone (bar herself) to feel sorry for her.

Enter Kouda Koji.

Shion had never spoken to the boy with the peculiar head before –Koji being something of a shrinking violet, and Shion being anything but. If events had transpired naturally, they probably wouldn't have crossed each other's social spheres for weeks. All Might, however, was an unnatural intervention (and a little unnatural all round, in Shion's opinion), one that had mushed Kouda Koji and Koyama Shion into the most laughable Villain duo in Class 1A.

While the first group set off to do battle, Koji gathered enough courage to take the initiative and introduce himself to his temporary partner. He lost that courage at the last second, and instead settled for awkwardly hovering nearby in hope that the blonde would extend an invitation first.

Unfortunately, Shion was a little preoccupied with frantically rubbing at her jumpsuit to get much of a first impression beyond tall, shy smile and a rather oddly shaped head. At least, he wasn't Momo or the ever-furious blond boy, but other than that Kouda Koji was an unknown quantity. She couldn't remember much of her individual classmates' Quirks from Aizawa-sensei's impromptu test, but she was relatively sure that the craggy-headed boy wasn't among Class 1A's heavy hitters.

"Yo! Sorry, just give a sec, okay?" eventually Shion flashed quick smile, before returning to scrubbing at the shoulder of her jumpsuit.

Koji hesitated a moment, watching the blonde bluster and puff at the unsympathetic dollop of bird poo.

"It's, erm, considered…" whatever else he'd said was an inaudible murmur.

"Eh?" the majority of Shion's attention was still engaged in beseeching the poop to lift.

"I-I said it's considered lucky in some places if a bird…poops on you," Koji coloured under the girl's wide-eyed stare. "Sorry, that's probably not very helpful- "

"Seriously?"

Koji blinked at her, unsure what to make of her burgeoning grin on her face. Finally, he gave a tentative nod. She appreciated the sympathy enough that Shion's building irritation deflated, and the urge to entertain a new audience swiftly overtook it.

"Nice! Cause we are gonna need it," she chuckled. "Unless, y'know, you've got some kinda kickass Quirk or something."

"A-aren't you super strong?" Koji questioned timidly, hoping not to offend with the obvious observation. The glow of the screens was shaping strange shadows across Koji's angular head, further extenuating his worried expression.

"Heh, yeah, I guess. **Shion strong like bull**!" Shion flexed her arms like a bodybuilder.

"Oh, shit, yeah sorry," she grinned apologetically, "Koyama Shion, at your service!"

"I'm Kouda Koji, nice to meet you," he smiled. "A-and I'm sorry about your costume."

Shion sighed, "it's cool… but it was a really nice costume."

"It was," Koji agreed kindly.

"I'm just hoping that the Rock or something doesn't turn up to take a massive dump on me next – the bird from Sinbad, not the American dude because that'd be kind of weird."

"…It, er, would?" Koji's tone was still sympathetic, except now tinged with an increasing amount of confusion. He didn't even know who this 'Rock' guy was.

The first of what Shion was sure was many explosions to come rattled through the ceiling, interrupting her and Koji's murmured conversation. She whistled under her breath. The angry blond may have been a bit of a raging nut-sack, but he definitely had the bite to backup all that bark.

She nudged Koji with a grin, "glad we're not up against him, huh?"

Wide-eyed at the devastation being displayed on the screens, Koji gulped and slowly nodded.

"Shh, Koyama-chan, we're trying to watch," Kyoka grumbled.

"You should be using this time to critique and devise your own strategy," Momo added, carefully keeping her voice as quiet as possible.

 _Stupid Momo-hime._ Shion frowned slightly, miming an offensive hand gesture at the pony-tailed girl while it was still too dark to see and feeling a little vindicated when the other girl obviously didn't notice. She sulked for a moment, before growing bored and turning her attention back to Kyoka.

"Oi, Jirou-chan, who's your partner, anyway?"

Kyoka shot her a quelling look, but whispered back nevertheless, "Kaminari Denki."

"Eh? Who's a Kaminari Denki."

At the mention of his name, the Denki's ears pricked up. He preened upon noticing the girls' attention, even going so far as to wink flirtatiously in their direction. Kyoka didn't even bother to look.

"I dunno," she answered flatly.

Shion almost guffawed at the way Denki deflated - if the small smirk Kyoka was sporting was any indication, she had been deliberately trying to wind him up. Shion's quickly strangled laughter was unfortunately loud enough to earn her a motley of disapproving looks. Holding her hands up in supplication and smiling awkwardly, she whispered a few apologies.

Devoid of any other form of distraction, Shion tried to pay attention to the battle raging many floors above them. It helped that the fight was engaging and far more cerebral than Shion had been expecting. Despite an absence of an audio feed, there was clearly some sort of history between the neurotic green-haired boy and his bloodthirsty opponent. It had grown increasingly violent as the trial swiftly derailed into a grudge match between the pair.

Shion cast a concerned eye towards their teacher. _Should he be allowing this?_ Sure, the blond kid was an uber-asshole but he was still a kid, and she was pretty sure the other three were friends. She winced when Midoriya was blasted from behind. They weren't watching some kind of action movie or a bout between professionals, there were _real_ fifteen-year-olds out there getting slammed into the floor and bombed.

More perplexing was the lack of concern from everyone else. There were a few flinches or negative outbursts, but for the majority they all seemed to be analysing the fight rather than appalled by the violence. Hero training or not, there was no way any of this was right.

"Hey…" Shion paused, unsure how to refer to All Might, before settling on, "Sensei, don't you think it's getting a _little_ bloody out there?"

All Might sighed, "unfortunately, most battles are. Being a Hero is a dangerous path and not one anyone should choose lightly."

He had a point but… they weren't Heroes. They were kids. Not that Shion could voice that – not that she thought she'd get anywhere _by_ voicing that. She tried not to think of the expressions on Midoriya's parents' faces when they were inevitably told their son could only eat liquids, because a kid with anger issues had been given full consent to shove a bomb up his backside. Because serious injury was the only way Shion could see any of this ending.

No one else batted an eyelash. Even Kyoka was as steely-faced as ever. Had they known before they enrolled what it would be like? Had Midoriya or his friends? What the hell was wrong with them? Sooner or later, someone was going to get seriously hurt – except this time, Shion was horribly aware that _she_ wasn't the only risk in the room. _Shit, this is messed up. Someone should say something!_ Shion's gaze flitted back and forth between the screens and her classmates. That awful, sinking anticipation that had lodged in her chest when she'd called Hiroto back earlier had returned, heavy and immovable.

Apparently, there _was_ a limit. It only took Bakugou nearly blowing up an entire floor.

" **Bakugou!"** All Might's shout was only one among many in the room.

"Sensei, what the hell! Pull them out before he really hurts someone!" Shion was shouting before she even knew what she was doing.

It was a risky move -directly opposing faculty like that- and one she wouldn't have even dreamed of contemplating, if she hadn't been in the grip of some serious frustration. Frustration at All Might. Frustration at U.A. Academy. Frustration at her parents for badgering her into enrolling. Frustration with everyone and everything that thought letting some doe-eyed, little fifteen-year-old get blown to hell was perfectly acceptable teaching curriculum.

Except this time, she had back-up in the form of Kirishima Eijirou and his visible nipples, "Sensei, please put a stop to this! That Bakugou kid's gone mental, at this rate he'll kill him!"

"No…"

Shion bodily reeled away from him, face and eyes pricking with a vicious spike of anger.

"Eh?! Are you serious, huh? Midoriya-kun's not gonna be able to 'walk the path of a Hero' without any damn legs, Sensei!"

The so-called shining Hero of the century wasn't even _looking at her._ Shion glanced at the screen where Midoriya's weedy body had impacted through a _concrete_ wall, and felt her jaw tighten to a painful degree.

"Sensei, _please!"_ it revolted her that she was having to plead to the kid's _teacher_ to intervene – that she had to plead _at all_ – but no one was doing a damn thing!

Finally, All Might turned to face her, and she almost screamed upon seeing his smile. The previously steady flow of mounting frustration sputtered and nearly dried up entirely when All Might reached out, and… gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

 _Eh._

Shion blinked.

"Your concern is truly touching, Koyama-chan, but… **Have a little faith in your classmates!"**

It wasn't said as a rebuke, but a soft remainder – one that Shion was entirely unsure what to do with. She glanced across at where Momo had already returned to scrutinising the ongoing battle and Kyoka was eyeing Shion with speculative concern, and coloured with embarrassment. Although privately she still felt like her protests were valid – were, in fact, the only sane reaction to what they were watching - Shion knew she must have looked like a total idiot by freaking out so openly.

Shion exhaled, and All Might patted her shoulder once in a reassuring manner before turning back to the screens.

But he was wrong. This wasn't a 'pat yourself on the back for being human enough that you actually gave a damn when someone was getting the shit kicked out of them' moment. Shion _shouldn't_ be the only one having trouble watching this, she was only acting how anyone else on the street would. And it didn't come down to faith. It came down to power. Shion was fully aware that she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box by any means, but even _she_ knew that much. Midoriya trying to 'believe in himself' enough to win against someone who probably farted three hand grenades worth of explosions before breakfast, was almost criminally naive.

But neither was it a crime to be physically weak. Not something that Shion had had to worry about (considering her Quirk and all), but she was practically useless at everything else. Despite his apparently buggy strength Quirk, Midoriya was physically more fragile than Bakugou. Midoriya had to be smart to last so long against him and Shion was certain the green-haired boy was accomplished at… knitting or something. It didn't mean he wasn't strong, but it _did mean_ someone should have been protecting him. After all Shion's mother wasn't capable of taking even a tiny fraction of the damage her father could, but Hanako was the brains of the operation and had the arguably stronger Quirk. People like Shion or her father or All Might should be the one to take the punches, precisely _because_ they were the ones who could take it.

Shion had always been taught from a young age to look after her own. You had to look after your own, because they were the people who were going to look after you in turn. Family took care of family. All Might was _supposed_ to be looking after all four of the kids in there. So why hadn't he intervened? Why did _Shion_ look and feel like a hysterical moron here?

 _Just let it go, Shion._ She took a breath, a step back. All Might was the one running the show here. It wasn't her call to make. There was nothing she could do in any case, the only thing her protests were achieving was further alienating herself from the class. At this point, she could always blame it on hormones or something – it wasn't as if anyone would be taking her seriously, anyway.

Maybe _she_ was taking herself a little too seriously here? For all her misgivings about U.A., they wouldn't commit outright manslaughter, right? Surely they knew what was going on better than a fifteen-year-old girl who had reminisced about snorting milk out her nose not an hour ago. That would have been the end of it normally, unburdening herself of any responsibility meant she could morally put it out of mind. But this was a _Hero_ school and things clearly worked differently here - even if 'differently' meant 'completely messed up'. Shion glanced guiltily once more at Midoriya's battered face, and told her instinctual reaction to stop being an idiot. _No one's going to die, and serious injury is apparently A-OK here so just shut up._

It all ended without any fatal injuries. Surprisingly Midoriya's team won. Unsurprisingly, Momo provided a synopsis of everyone's mistakes to rival even the most anal-retentive robot – most of which, Shion lost track of since she was giggling at the thought of the word 'anal-retentive'.

The following match between 'Team Cheese-ling' and 'Team Guy-who-got-all-the-tail' (Shion was unjustifiably proud of that one… Kyoka less so) was mercifully devoid of possible manslaughter, as all participants passed the sanity check. Though clearly less murderous, Todoroki still gave Shion the chills – a natural reaction to witnessing a fifteen-year-old student encase an entire multi-storey building in ice without breaking a sweat.

" **Okay! Next up Team F vs. Team E!** "

"Alright!" Mina cheered while Laser-Dick swished his cape with a theatrical flourish.

Shion peered about for the other team, but no one else seemed to be having any kind of reaction to the news. _Have they nipped to the toilet or something?_

"…Erm, Koyama-san? I think that might be that's us."

"Eh?" Shion blinked at Koji's gentle (but pointed) suggestion.

Kyoka had no such reservations with bossing about the blonde, "you're Team F. You're up now."

"What? Seriously?"

" _Yes,_ seriously, get your butt up there."

"B-but I haven't even written a theme song! Or done any of those ass squats things, or – or- "

/-/-/

The benefit of being assigned as Villains was a short interval to establish a plan before the Hero team arrived. It was a benefit that Shion wasted. The blonde in question cast an uneasy glance at where her teammate was fidgeting timidly. She was _so_ not up to this. If it hadn't been made painfully obvious thus far, planning was not Shion's forte, instead, she tended to go along with whatever everyone else was doing. Unfortunately, Koji also didn't seem to be much of a master tactician – or at least not confident enough to doll out any much-needed instruction.

Her previous plan of attack had boiled down to running at her opponent, and desperately trying not to hurt anyone in the process. After seeing Midoriya go through the meat grinder, however, Shion was unwilling to try even that much. She absolutely did not want to be another Bakugou. And she absolutely did not want her classmates to see her that way, either.

" _So,_ er, we should probably… do something?" Shion voiced.

Koji nodded uncertainly, "yeah."

"Do you have any ideas?"

 _Please say you have ideas._

"E-erm, no, not really. Sorry, Koyama-san," Koji looked so heartbroken and unsure of himself that Shion couldn't help feeling sorry for the kid.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up, it's cool! We'll just have to work something out, y'know!" she grinned, trying to appear way more confident than she felt. "Er, what's your Quirk?"

"I can talk to animals," he answered in the same tone someone would admit that their Quirk was being slightly better at making balloon animals. "Sorry, I know it's not very useful…."

It wasn't, but Shion didn't have the heart to tell Koji that. Besides, he was probably berating himself for it more than anyone else could.

"I dunno, I think it sounds cool and my little sister would love that Quirk!"

"She likes animals?" Koji perked up.

"Heh, ' _Likes'?_ I'm pretty sure Kiku would swap me for anything with four legs, y'know – furniture included."

Shion mentally patted herself on the back when Koji smiled shyly. She wasn't overly bothered about passing the test, but she _would_ like to avoid anyone getting hurt. Which was probably going to require some semblance of a plan on their part, considering that the other team was going to come at them with everything they've got. If she can get to them and take them out as non-violently as she could before they reached a defenceless Koji, then…

"Okay, so animals. What animals can we use? Animals… animals… animals," Shion muttered as she racked her brain.

"Y-you said a bird pooped on your costume? Maybe that means there's some around here?" Koji offered hesitantly.

"Ha, nice! Thanks, Kouda-kun!" Shion grinned. "Can you call them over here?"

"Sure, it shouldn't be a problem," he was looking quietly confident, and Shion couldn't have been more relieved in the change. "We could use them to keep an eye on the other team?"

It was still posed as a question rather than an outright statement, but it was a vast improvement on the boy who'd been too shy to even look her directly in the eye when they first stepped into the room

"Oh, shit, yeah! Nice suggestion! Y'know, we might actually do this," she grinned back, a little disbelieving of the words coming out of her mouth.

Koji smiled softly and gave a firm nod in reply, before shuffling over to do just that. Shion didn't think he would garner much of an audience considering he hadn't raised his volume beyond a conversational tone, but apparently word travelled quickly among the feathered community and the room steadily began filling with all manner of crows and little songbirds. Even a couple of pigeons.

It was surreal. Shion hadn't expected it to be – these were birds that she saw pecking at crumbs or flitting about trees along the roadside on a daily basis, and there were hardly enough to constitute an aviary or fill the room. It was the juxtaposition of seeing an ordinary object in an unordinary setting that was jarring. Koji didn't seem to pay them much mind, bar the odd nod of thanks or affectionate stroke. He glanced up at the blonde, patiently waiting for her to continue.

" _Okay_. Right! So, we get the birds to track them, they relay the position back to you, and you, er… you tell me where they are through the walkie-talkie, and stay here and guard the missile, alright?"

It was the easiest way to keep Koji out of harm's way. Shion could (probably) take a hit from Dick-laser and whatever else Mina had in store, but she was certain that Koji couldn't. Besides, he was already being a massive help by saving her the aggravation of running all over the place like a madwoman.

Koji, however, didn't look entirely satisfied with the plan.

"But what about you?"

"Huh, what about me? I'll go tie up the other team," Shion's grin faltered. She'd thought that much would have been obvious.

"On your own? Will you be alright?"

 _Aw, shit, Koji stop being such a sweetheart or I'm going to cry._

"Psh! Yeah, of course! **Shion strong like bull** , remember?" Shion grinned brightly, trying to hide how touched she'd been by his concern. They were strangers after all, there was no reason for Koji to feel so worried by the idea of her running into trouble, _especially_ because his Quirk made him so unequip at handling it himself.

"I-if you're sure…" Koji eyed her carefully.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Er, unless you've got another suggestion?" Shion hedged, hope surging that Koji would suddenly take the reins and they wouldn't be forced to put their faith in her flimsy plan.

"No, I've…" Koji paused, and the confliction cleared enough to muster a reassuring smile. "No, let's go with your plan, Koyama-san."

"Hahaha, please can we not call it _my_ plan," Shion laughed awkwardly. "Doesn't really inspire confidence. It's more of a 'general plan' kind of thing, y'know."

Decision made, Shion rocked on the spot and began shaking her arms out, before activating her Quirk. The first few layers of Augmented Muscle slithered to life, pillowing her arms and legs with enough of a lift necessary to reassure Shion that nothing _too_ bad was going to happen. Also jerking into action, Koji began sending out his aerial scouts. Shion lamented the missed opportunity for him to declare 'fly my pretties', but she wasn't entirely sure he'd get the reference.

"Hey, let's have a little fun while we're at it, yeah? I wanna see a moustache-twirl and 'mwhahaha' or kukuku' before this is over!" Shion grinned. "We're gonna need catchphrases, Kouda-kun! _Evil_ catchphrases! And _evil_ puns for every time we do anything even remotely menacing, huh?"

"I, er, don't think catchphrases are my thing," Koji replied, but he was looking far more animated -and dare she say _hopeful_ \- at her theatrics.

She rolled her arms as the Augmented Muscles smoothly locked into place, the sensation both constricting and comforting. There weren't enough layers to do any real damage to anyone, but more than enough that Shion felt that boost of added power just begging to be put to use.

"It's cool, it's cool. You could be the strong silent type, maybe get a bird to sit on your shoulder and glare evilly or it could twirl a moustache?"

"I'm pretty sure birds don't have moustaches, Koyama-san. Or glare."

"Hey, I never said it had to twirl its _own_ moustache... though getting groomed by a bird might ruin the whole 'strong, silent' image, y'know."

 _BEEP!_

Shion jolted at the tinny sound, scanning the ceiling despite knowing its source won't be there. _Okay, let's do this. Everything will be fine… probably._

"Alright, it's go time!" she grinned hugely for Koji's benefit. "Wish me luck, and call if you need anything, okay Kouda-kun?"

He gave a serious nod, "good luck, Koyama-san, and please don't do anything too risky."

"I'll be fine," she waved him off (that, at least, she genuinely believed). "Don't worry so much, yeah?"


	7. Shion Koyama vs the Alien Queen

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Laser Dick & the Alien Queen**

 **.**

" **You're kinda bumming me out"**

 **Mina Ashido**

 **.**

One would think believing yourself to be the most dangerous thing in the room left you with very little to worry about. Koyama Shion knew otherwise. In her experience, worrying about your own strength over other people was as (if not _more)_ stressful than worrying about another's strength over you. She would have much rather suffered through a hundred of her brother's atomic wedgies (okay, maybe not a _hundred_ , but definitely more than ten) than accidentally launching a classmate 20 foot in the air after they'd asked her to play on the see-saw with them – which, she was ashamed to say, had happened before.

And yet, her heart was pounding like a war drum as she stalked down the first of many winding, damp hallways. Not from fear, but from excitement. She recognised the eagerness jerking at the edges of her fingertips and a smile teasing the corners of her mouth, before she actually recognised the emotion itself.

" _Turn right, then another right and they should be in the next hallway,"_ Koji instructed.

 _Shit, they're right up our ass._ Mina and Aoyama had definitely taken advantage of the time Shion and Koji had wasted tiptoeing around one another. There was less buffer between the encroaching team and Koji than Shion would have preferred, but little point getting too stressed about it. What was done was done, after all, and Shion only needed to act as a wall between them and their objective. Strategizing like some feudal Lord might have been a bit beyond Shion's capabilities, but 'wall' she could manage.

"Roger that, Big Stink is moving, silent but deadly," Shion whispered back, silently determined not to treat the whole debacle with the level of seriousness everyone seemed to think it deserved.

Her shoes made soft patting sounds against the bolted metal squares lining the floor, a sound only accompanied by dull insectoid drone of the the lights buzzing overhead. If she strained, she imagined she could just about hear the other team (Mina, in particular) bickering and speculating amongst one another. _This is kinda horror movie territory_ \- a genre Shion loved, but would probably enjoy less if she was living one.

The hallways were short, identical and labyrinthine, devoid of any distinctions that would have made tracking possible. Had it not been for the odd crow or fat, little wren fluttering back and forth above her head, Shion would have been hopelessly lost. It was a wonder Mina and Aoyama had managed to find them so quickly, unless… Shion glanced up at the trickling stream of aerial traffic, finally clocking onto something she should have noticed earlier: the other team were using their plan against them, following the birds as they reported back to Koji.

But that only meant that the other team knew what direction Koji was in, _not_ where he was actually located. That had to count for something, right? And it probably would have _if_ Shion had been like Kyoka who had a stealth-based Quirk, but she wasn't exactly sure how to utilise the element of surprise when she had all the grace of a bull in short-shorts. What she _did_ have was strength and speed. Maybe if she hit them hard enough and fast enough it'd make up for an embarrassing lack of stealth.

As for Mina and Aoyama, Shion was relatively sure that both of their Quirks relied on long-range. _Not_ one of Shion's strong suits (an understatement), so she'd need to close the gap as quickly as possible to avoid a hit from either Dick Laser or Acid Slime.

 _Okay, right then another right. You can do this. You can do this._

Crouching like she was set for the 100m dash, Shion tensed as she layered another level of muscle to her legs. The Augmented Muscles bunched like a coiled spring, the metal flooring groaning underneath like a tug boat in icy waters. Her fingers left the floor first, chin jutting forward as she burst away, the initial step flushing hotly from her neck to spine to toe-tips as they slammed against the metal. Her first footfall sounded like a thunderclap, echoing down the dimly lit hallway with a suddenness and ferocity that made even Shion wince.

The first right came up. The second right tighter. And there they were, Mina and Aoyama's eyes widening as they finally correlated the rapid slapping of Shion's shoes with the figure barrelling towards them at eye-watering speeds. It only occurred to the blonde then that she hadn't thought this far ahead. _Shit._ There was no slowing down. She didn't think she _could_ slow down, not when the hallway was so short and not with the speed she was running. No one in that corridor had time to think. There was barely time enough to act.

Mina moved first, frantically sliding out of the way of Shion's charge. Aoyama was not so lucky. He managed a single shot, but panic chipped away at his control and accuracy. It hit far too high, just skimming Shion's shoulder, temporarily unbalancing the human bullet shooting towards him. The burn and subsequent retreating knot of Augmented Muscle didn't even register as instinct kicked in, and Shion's remaining protected shoulder dipped forward like a riot shield. The only thing that registered was Aoyama looking wide-eyed and terrified, bracing for an impact that they were both helpless to stop.

 **SLAP**

It hit her like a punch. Not the headlong, sledgehammer force, but the knowledge that she had just crashed right into Aoyama. Instead of the sound of skin smacking concrete that Shion had expected, there was an unnerving thwap of flesh ramming into flesh. It was somehow worse – making her uncomfortably aware of all Aoyama's precious, squishy insides. Her mind inexplicably drew up images of medieval battering rams, of blacksmiths hammering on iron, of a fist in an open hand; of Aoyama Yuuga being slammed into with such force that he flopped over her shoulder like she'd knocked all the bones right out of him.

It was that thought, more so than any real physical resistance, that jarred Shion. Her next step was awkward, fumbled, _stupid_. Her heart tangled in her throat as she fell onto her ass. A flash of instinctive fear at the vulnerable position reverberated through her, in tempo with the throb of pain pulsing out from her tailbone. And she was right to be scared, because _that_ was when the acid slime started.

 _Oh, yeah_ , she thought dumbly, _Mina's Quirk is acid._

Mina sprayed the floor between the two fifteen-year-old girls first. Whether she was trying to block of any chance of Shion coming at her like she had Aoyama, or whether she was just as frantic as they were; Shion didn't know. Didn't care. She wasn't thinking enough _to_ care about anything beyond the puddle of thick, bubbling liquid creeping towards her leg. Eyes watering with the astringent stench of bleach, the insidious hiss as the acid began eating its way through the metal floor finally kicked Shion into action.

" _Holy_ shi-!"

Shion's yell cut off as she planted both feet on the wall in front of her, and propelled herself backwards at a 90-degree angle. Fortunately, the hallway ended in a T of two branching passages. Unfortunately, she wasn't close enough yet to take cover in one, and the hallway she _was_ in was beginning to look like Swiss cheese. Shion couldn't seem to get her feet under her fast enough, tripping up under her own eagerness and the unresponsive boy still slumped over her shoulder. The once sympathetic plight of Aoyama, her unwilling passenger, turned into unwanted baggage.

" _K_ - _Koyama-san! What was that noise? Are you okay?"_ Koji's concerned voice was fluttering about her ear like a flock of birds startled from their roost.

"Get ready for my Acid attack, Villain scum!" Mina's voice… less so.

Another volley of acid spat towards Shion. This time, she didn't wait to get her bearings as she danced backwards and took cover in the nearest corridor. Finally, she slumped Aoyama from her shoulders, anxiously checking that the boy didn't look _too_ battered – GLOOP! A glob of acid crashed and smeared dangerously close to where Shion was crouching just behind the wall, wobbling there invitingly like some horrible, lethal trifle.

 _Oh shit, okay, okay, SHIT! Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, Laser Dick! I'm sorry, seriously I'm really, really,_ _ **really**_ _sorry! Please be fine! Okay, shut up, it'll be fine. It'll. All. Be. Fine. I'm hiding from a shower of acid rain and I just rammed into a guy like a damn bowling ball, but everything will probably be fine, right?_ _ **Shit, shit, shit what do I do**_ _? What do I… the hell? I smell puke, did Sparkle-eyes throw up on me? No, don't think about it, just calm down - you are the coolest of all cool cucumbers in Japan… wait, what the fuck is that even supposed to mean!_

"Come on out, Shio – I, er, mean Villain! I'm gonna totally kick your evil butt!" Mina was really hamming it up out there.

Hamming it up…

 _Of course! Thank you, Ashido Mina!_ Shion hadn't killed anyone… at least, she was pretty sure she hadn't killed anyone. And she didn't particularly care whether she won or not, just that everyone went away from this relatively unscathed and with no hurt feelings. Somewhere, somehow, she'd got so caught up in the immediacy and danger of the combat trial that she lost sight of her perspective.

The acid was no less dangerous and Shion was still painfully aware that she'd backed herself into a corner – but this wasn't the end of the world. With the rest of her family so competitive, Shion had grown accustomed to losing a game to salvage _at least_ a thin veneer of fun. If her team lost this trail, would Shion honestly be any worse off?

"Relax, Kouda-kun, I'm fine. Just sit tight, okay?" Shion felt a little guilty about the lateness of her reply when Koji sighed with palatable relief.

" _O-okay."_

First things first, Shion made a haphazard attempt at tying the tape around Aoyama. Distracted by keeping an eye on the volley of acid, Shion ended up doing a poor job when it retaining the boy's dignity - _if_ he had been awake enough to protest having his nose taped back like a pig's, the corners of his lips turning up into a goofy smile and one eye taped half-open.

 _Well, if Mina's hamming it up, might as well follow her lead._

"Tis I, who will be doing the kicking of the butt! Yours, in fact! You're way out of your depth, Hero… and the fact that you don't even realise it will make my victory so much sweeter!"

"In your dreams!" came Mina's enthusiastic response.

" _Very_ in my dreams! As an evil Villain that's exactly what I dream about, y'know!"

"Well, it's…er, time for you to wake up!"

Shion whistled, "oh man, that was actually a good one!"

"Thanks, I thought I might be, like, stretching a bit but – hey! Stop trying to distract me!"

Shion blinked, the thought of distracting Mina until the time ran out not occurring to her until that moment. She'd just been enjoying the cheesy back-and-forth. _Damn, that would have actually been a good idea too!_

But she would need to do something, and _soon._ The wall Shion had taken cover behind was rapidly eroding, and the blonde wasn't as confident as she had been before the trial that her Quirk could hold up against acid damage. Okay, what did she have?

Both legs and one arm were still boosted by her Quirk. An unconscious Aoyama making huffing, piggy breaths through his grotesque tape mask. Across the hallway Mina had liberally doused with acid was another corridor. It wouldn't lead directly to the room where Koji was bunkered down, but with her Quirk she could probably bust a hole in the wall and sweep in for a timely rescue. Shion flattened her remaining muscled arm against the wall near her head and pushed, testing the strength. The metal plates dented inwards slightly with a teeth-gritting whine. Okay, so she could almost definitely break through if she hit it full-force.

All she had to do was get to the hallway opposite the one she was taking cover in (the other side of the T), and to do that she needed to get _past_ the main hallway Mina was in without taking an acid bath. For the moment the threat posed by Aoyama getting wounded was keeping Mina here and, more importantly, _away_ from Koji. But that would all change as soon as Shion was on the move, and she would _still_ have to deal with Mina. Somehow. She figured she'd think of something when she got there.

"You better be prepared Hero, there's some serious evil stuff coming your way!"

"Hah! Like what, huh?"

"I'll…er, I'll…" Shion's reply was a little delayed as she searched about frantically for some way past Mina's acid attack. Her eyes landed on Aoyama, before a grin enveloped her face. "I'll shave your liver! Squeeze the jelly from your eyes-"

" _Erm… don't you think that might be a bit too much_?" Koji hedged, sounding mildly nauseated even distorted through the walkie-talkie.

"Heh, yeah, sorry! Yo, Mina-chan, I retract my earlier statement!" Shion's yelled. "I'll probably do evil stuff but nothing gross, y'know!"

"Thanks!" came Mina's surprisingly chipper, disembodied reply.

Shion shuffled Aoyama so he slumped against the wall, before eyeing the distance between herself and the opposite corridor with a speculative frown. The fact that Mina hadn't advanced to finish her off directly likely meant that the acid was as dangerous to the pink-skinned girl as it was to Shion. Considering the speeds Shion had achieved earlier, there was little chance of Mina managing to both aim and successfully hit her. It was the damage _already_ dealt to the hallways structural strength that worried the blonde. What if the floor suddenly caved under her as soon as she put any weight on it?

"No worries, and just as a heads-up, I'm gonna throw Aoyama-kun at you in a minute, alright?"

"… WHAT? NO WAY! I MIGHT HIT HIM!"

"Exactly! Just don't, y'know, rain death from above," Shion frowned. "Just so you know, Mina-chan, I feel pretty shitty about this too."

And she did. Despite being reasonably confident that Mina wouldn't hurt her friend, the other girl was still a relative stranger and Shion wasn't sure if she trusted her gut enough to stake the safety of a fellow human being on it. Aoyama had already received a nasty bruise and an upset stomach - was Shion really prepared to make the poor guy's day _worse?_ Unlike Bakugou, Aoyama had hardly done anything to deserve such rough treatment. Was _she_ being another Bakugou by putting Aoyama in harm's way? Well, technically U.A. had put Aoyama in harm's way. _Bullshit,_ _ **I'd**_ _be the one throwing him out there on a hunch, not U.A._

"Urgh! C'mon, Shion-chan, you can't be serious!" Mina pleaded.

"Oh, I'm totally serious! In fact, I'm super, super deadly serious!"

She wasn't. Aoyama flopped about, looking pained even while unconscious. Shion imagined what would happen if the hallway was half as perilous as she thought it was. Maybe he'd sink right through the floor only to regain consciousness while buried under half-melted rubble, terrified and confused. Maybe he'd land near a puddle of the stuff and have half his face burned off. Or worse, maybe Mina wasn't as kind as Shion had pegged her, maybe Mina _was_ fully prepared to injure a friend if it meant winning.

It was only when it came down to it – that split-second when a decision _needed_ to be made – that Shion realised that she was totally incapable of chucking Aoyama out there. She didn't think she'd have been any more capable of pulling a fully-manned Panzer from her backside.

The answer surprised even Shion. She knew what Hiroto or her parents would have done, knew what she would have _said_ she'd have done if asked the question half an hour ago, but actually faced with the situation she just… _couldn't_ do it.

 _No, don't panic, this is salvageable – and if it's not, there's nothing wrong with parking yourself here and waiting it out._ Shion's eyes darted about for an answer until they landed on Aoyama's breast plate, and fumbled to strip it off him before carefully maneuvering the unconscious boy further away from harm. _He'll be okay just chilling up there...probably._

"I'm throwing him to his perilous death now, okay?" Shion yelled, braced against the very lip of the corner with the breastplate in one hand. She only had one chance at this.

"Hang on! Wait a minute!"

As soon as the breastplate left her hands, Shion was running like a race hound loosed onto the track. By the time it clunked onto the floor, she was already halfway there, heart drumming in her head and eyes locked onto the siren call of the opposite corridor. The Augmented Muscles in her legs pushed and pulled like pistons, _launching_ her across the acid-strewn hallway. She didn't know if Mina had fallen for her bluff. She didn't dare look. She felt acid pitter against her muscled back, and profusely damned whatever stupid part of her had thought this was a good idea.

A few steps from salvation, Shion's ankle slipped against a congealing puddle of acid, ripping her foot from under her. For a single awful moment, Shion felt her entire body swerve, all her weight balanced precariously on one foot while the momentum of other pulled her backwards. Without thinking, she threw herself forward. Finally, _finally_ crashing into the corridor at an awkward angle that sent a tingling spiderweb of pain shooting up her arm.

 _Holy shit. Holy shit, I did it! Barely, but that's besides the point_. All the panic-induced adrenaline was purged on one long, deep exhale. Hysterical laughter bubbled somewhere in her chest. Bar one partially corroded shoe (that she quickly kicked off as if it were a live snake), Shion had made it past unscathed and with the added benefit of not putting Aoyama in harm's way.

Still vibrating with the high of her minor victory, Shion was a little shaky as she pulled herself to her feet. Now all that remained was finding her way back to the room with the nuclear device before Mina - a task she felt significantly more confident about given her superior speed.

"Kouda-kun? Yo, Kouda-kun, can you hear me?" Shion clutched the transceiver to her mouth, as she pulled herself to her feet.

" _Yeah, erm, I can hear you. Are you okay, Koyama-san?"_ Koji's mounting concern was palatable even through speakers.

Shion glanced down. One shoe off. Her playsuit smeared with vomit at the back, and she pretty sure pockmarked with acid burns. Elbow still a little sore. Her Quirk only active on her legs and one arm. Yeah, she was fine. Mostly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. All good on this end! But, er, Mina-chan is probably coming for you-"

" _W-what?"_

Shion winced at his yelp.

"Hey, relax, it's not as bad as it sounds… well, okay, it's pretty bad _but_ I'm on my way. Don't worry, Kouda-kun, I'll definitely protect you~"

Koji's reply was a litany of frightened, whispered babble that Shion couldn't make head or tails from. Which wasn't the most encouraging reception when she'd been trying to lighten the atmosphere but, given the circumstances, a deserved one.

"Kouda-kun, hey? _Breathe,_ y'know, before your head explodes," she urged. "Do you think you can get some more of those birds here?"

" _N-no, sorry, I can't get them past where I told you to go."_

Shion sighed. They were likely as disinclined to navigating the acid-riddled hallway as she was.

" _I'm really sorry, Koyama-san…"_

"No, it's fine, it's cool. Don't worry about it, okay? I'll work something out - Oh! And you should probably call the birds back, I'm pretty sure Mina-chan was following them."

" _O-okay,"_ Koji didn't sound confident _at all,_ but at least he didn't start screaming or muttering again.

It had taken two rights to reach the hallway with Mina and Aoyama, so Shion reasoned that two lefts should lead her back to Koji. She set out at a brisk near-run, edging on the side of caution now she no longer had Koji's feathered sat nav to navigate by. The first left was simple enough, but the attached passageway was worryingly long. Sure enough, Shion's apprehension was justified as the passageway broke off into a right turn – and _only_ a right turn.

Shion groaned with aggravation. She hadn't realised exactly how useful Koji's guiding had been until then. With the birds cut off by Mina's acid-strewn hallway, there was no way he could help her now. Frowning at the smooth wall of metal panelling (where there _should_ have been a left), Shion figured that if she punched through now, she couldn't be _too_ far from Koji. Right? She'd definitely be one wall closer, at any rate.

Rearing her arm back, Shion hovered indecisively for another minute. What if this only ending up ripping through her remaining Augmented Muscle? Then she'd be no closer to Koji, and down _both_ arms. It was probably wiser to just stay here and wait until they timed out.

" _She's here!"_

Koji's panicked shout startled Shion into action. Her fist flashed forwards, and impacted the wall with a thunderous crack and puff of dislodged plaster. The wall buckled inwards and splinted, some of the metal panels tumbled to the floor with a noise like giant pennies dropping.

Shion swelled her fist back, and sent it slamming into the wall again as if it were an unstoppable wave of muscle. The second impact was louder. She _felt_ a large section of the wall give way before she heard the indignant, ominous rumble of concrete bursting apart.

 _That_ one, she'd felt. Retracting her fist, Shion stared gingerly at where the Augmented Muscle had torn around her grappling gloves, large strips of it hanging like morbid party decorations from where it was still attached to her elbow. It could probably withstand the last punch needed to break through the wall, but that'd put her arm out of commission completely. Erring on the side of caution, Shion instead lifted the foot and kicked.

For all her promises otherwise, Shion had to admit she was enjoying acting the thug in this capacity. Relishing in the easy violence – or, more accurately her capacity _for_ violence- felt more excusable with Koji's virtue on the line. Okay, so maybe he wasn't a blushing maiden in need of her rescuing, but Shion felt it made the sudden, self-indulgent rush much more palatable if she imagined he was. After all, who didn't like being good at something. Even if it was something shitty, wouldn't a small part of you feel a little bit proud. Shion just so happened to be good at curb-stomping concrete walls into submission (which had bonus of looking pretty damn cool).

It took two kicks before a fist-sized chunk of concrete was sent flying, the rest of the wall crumbling into debris soon after. _Success!_ She panted for breath, lungs burning with exertion and eyes burning with concrete dust.

"DRA - Hah, shit… DRAMATIC ENTRY- _eh_?" Shion blinked.

Ashido Mina blinked back. Ashido Mina who had advanced a lot faster than Shion would have thought capable, and was now ready to pounce on the fake nuclear device while Shion had emerged a good distance away. Too far, to reach her quickly enough at any rate.

"What the hell, you're supposed to be way farther back than that!" Shion whined.

"No way, my slime means I move pretty quick," as if to demonstrate Mina skidded even _closer_ to her quarry, and looked up at Shion with a beaming smile. "Cool, right?"

"Bu-wha… but I punched through a wall and everything!" the reply was punctuated by a moan of frustration.

"Oh, yeah… well, that was pretty cool too, Shion-chan. Nice work!"

At any other time, Mina's support would have lifted Shion's mood. At _that_ moment, the attempt fell rather flat. Shion still wasn't overly bothered about winning, but she'd hoped that looking like a _total_ loser could be avoided – _maybe_ , she could have even looked a little cool to her fellow classmates, rubbed Momo's nose in it a bit. Alas, it was a dream that was clearly not meant to be.

"Thanks, Mina-chan, but please don't encourage me right now. I'm trying to salvage what little dignity I have left, y'know," Shion slumped morosely.

 _Splat._

"Stop shitting on me!"

The guilty bird didn't even bother to dignify its victim with a reply, gliding off with (what Shion imagined, anyway) a rather smug look.

"Aww, cheer up, Shion-chan," Mina frowned sympathetically. "You're kinda bumming me out."

"Yeah," Shion drew in a breath and straightened her spine again. "Oh well, it's not a big deal anyway. What did you do with Kouda-kun? You didn't hurt him, right?"

Mina's face screwed up with tangible confusion, "Huh? Kouda-kun?"

"Koyama-san, duck!"

Even before the words had left Koji's mouth, there was a flurry of wings and displaced air. Mina shrieked as several crows flapped and fussed over her head, throwing her pink-skinned arms up over her hair as she tried to ward them off. _Oh yeah, go Kouda-kun!_

"Nice, Kouda-kun!"

Shion was then presented with an opportunity. If she ran at Mina while the other girl was otherwise occupied, there was a high chance she could take her down. Alternatively, she could continue standing there, gawping like an idiot. The Augmented Muscles in her legs were still working, she could probably _carry_ Mina out the room if need be.

But… What if she accidentally came at her with the same force she'd used on Aoyama? What if she wasn't so lucky this time, and it ended in more than bruises? So far, Mina had posed a far greater threat than Shion had anticipated – first managing to trap her in a corner, and then managing to match her speed and reach the objective far faster than Shion had thought possible. What if, by posing a challenge, Shion switched to auto-pilot and hit her at full force?

One part of Shion was screaming at her to move, _now,_ while she had the chance. But a larger, ingrained part was rooting her to the floor. The part that was terrified of being shunned or unintentionally hurting someone. The part that had been budded and nurtured since her first week of nursery.

 _What do I do? What do I do?_

" **Time's up! TEAM F WINS!"**

Physically wilting with relief at having the decision taken out of her (incapable) hands, Shion never thought she'd have been so glad to hear All Might's voice.

/-/-/

"Did you seriously shout, 'dramatic entry' _when you made a dramatic entry,_ what the hell, _"_ Kyoka was near crying with laughter.

Shion, on the other hand, was not so amused.

"Alright, alright, give it a rest," she grumbled, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket as they spilled out into the current of students straggling towards U.A.'s main doors.

After a thorough - and irritatingly warranted - scathing condemnation from Momo, Shion didn't feel much in the mood for anything bar a little sympathy. Soon after All Might called the match to an end Aoyama had woken up (just long enough to immediately faint at the sight of his hideous visage), then Momo had dissected their performance with all the precision and compassion of a surgeon.

First, she and Koji were criticised for not taking a leading role, _then_ for not planning properly when they'd eventually muddled through the first part. Next, Shion had been chastised for rushing in – _repeatedly._ Initially for rushing into the hallway itself, and secondly for rushing into the second corridor without consulting Koji first. The only compliments Momo had made was for something Shion did unknowingly: her decision to deal with Aoyama (who had the longest range) first, and using Mina's flair for dramatics against her by stalling until they were out of time. It was the last criticism, however, that had really thrown Shion. Momo had accused her of having too much confidence in her Quirk.

Seriously? Yeah, okay, she hadn't considered that Mina would be such a challenge, but she wasn't an arrogant bastard like Bakugou. It wasn't like she thought her Quirk was _better_ than everyone else's - it was admittedly pretty cool, but more often it was a massive pain in the ass. It wasn't _Shion's_ fault that she was uncomfortably aware of how much stronger she was than everyone else (except maybe Midoriya… okay, more than likely Midoriya). Shion didn't go around bragging about it, anyway, so what was Momo's problem.

 _Stupid Momo. What did_ she _know anyway, huh? …Well, a lot of stuff, but nothing about me._

Shion had started to wonder if she'd done _anything_ right (ever, in her entire life), when All Might had shown mercy, and commended her for thinking on her feet and always considering the safety of her classmates. Which had been surprisingly comforting, even if it was coming out of All Might's mouth. At least, she'd managed to entertain everyone. Coming out to laughter and a few pats on the back as opposed to the seriousness of the first match, had cheered Shion up considerably... until Momo opened her mouth, anyway.

"Hey, you okay?" Kyoka frowned up at her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. All good," Shion smiled. "Just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself."

A genuine laugh bubbled out of Shion at that, "shut up."

She winced, maybe that had been a little too blunt. Ordinarily she wouldn't have dared to tell Kyoka to 'shut up' when she still wasn't sure how the purple-haired girl would react. But she was exhausted - by Hiroto's call, and the whole thing with the costumes and the lurking comment, and the Battle Trial and trying to play nice with Momo even though the girl was a complete stick-in-the-mud - that it had just… slipped out. _Idiot._ Anxiously checking Kyoka's face for any sign of a brewing storm, Shion felt her gut clench for what felt like the hundredth time today.

Kyoka deciding that she wanted nothing else to do with Shion really would be the cherry on a cake of bird shit and acid attacks.

"Huh. I just thought it was something to do with that call earlier," Kyoka shrugged.

Kyoka who was completely, _brilliantly_ unbothered by Shion's comment. She felt like she could have hugged her at that moment. Instead, she settled for holding the main door open for Kyoka to slip through, trying to hide her beaming smile in the crook of her arm as she did so.

"Who was that, anyway?" the shorter girl asked, completely oblivious (or refusing to acknowledge) Shion's dopey smile.

"Eh? Who was what?"

"That call. You were really out of it after that," Kyoka glanced at her with the sort of probing, frank interest that Shion had always found intimidating.

"Oh, _that_ ," the blonde forced a laugh. "No idea."

Kyoka snorted, "okay, whatever. Keep your secrets."

As the pair descended the front steps, fresh air and sunlight and the sound of traffic and human chatter soaked into Shion's bones, reassuring her that normal life resumed in the world outside.

"You know… I didn't know you had a little sister until now," Kyoka began hesitantly. She tried to sound nonchalant, but there was something in her voice that suggested she'd picked her words very carefully. "To be honest, I don't actually know much about you."

"You know I like diary products," Shion offered, trying to lighten the mood.

Kyoka only gave her a flat look.

"Okay, okay. I, er, don't know much about you, either, y'know," Shion scratched her neck.

Why did she suddenly feel like a character in a Shoujo manga? It wasn't like Kyoka was asking anything major, and honestly Shion never really _stopped_ talking about herself. Except that was usually joking around or pointless trivia, and Kyoka was asking for something _real._

Shion couldn't remember the last time a potential friend had asked her about her life and genuinely wanted her answer. But then again, Jirou Kyoka wasn't like the usual out-going, boisterous girls that Shion tried to befriend. Shion didn't know what to tell her. Not only because she wasn't sure where to even begin – no, it was the panic and fear suddenly seeping into the back her head that stopped her.

It was easier to feed Kyoka jokes because if Kyoka didn't like a joke it'd hurt a little, yeah, but Shion could shrug it off. Telling Kyoka something real, that came with the risk of Kyoka not liking this very real, very vulnerable part of Shion and… she wasn't sure if she could handle it. Actually, she was _sure_ she wouldn't be able to handle it. But, if she _didn't_ say anything then their friendship would always just be this shallow not-quite-friends, and for once Shion wasn't sure if she could handle that either.

Her hesitance must have shown on her face, because Kyoka tucked her shoulders in like she was trying to physically shoulder her embarrassment.

"Look, whatever," Kyoka sighed. "Just forget I asked-"

"Her name's Kiku!" Shion blurted, then instantly coloured when she realised exactly how loud she'd just shouted that. "My, er, sister… I mean. She's ten, and adorable and probably the grouchiest person I've ever met. Here, I've got a picture – well, a ton of pictures really. Not in a, y'know... creepy way."

Shion fumbled for her phone. She finally decided on a picture of herself grinning, one arm around Kiku while the other hand was flashing a victory V in the bottom left-hand corner. On the right, Kiku was scowling through a blush, doggedly looking off camera, but the very fact that she'd _let_ Shion take the picture revealed more about her happiness than the ten-year-old's sullen expression.

"Oh, she's cute."

Kyoka's smile was softer than Shion had ever seen it, and the blonde felt a powerful surge of affection just for that. Honestly, she even teared up a little bit. It was that moment, the subtle kindness in Kyoka's smile, that made Shion _truly_ want to be friends with her. Not just because it was easier than being on her own, or because they had the same music interest or because Kyoka made her laugh – it was for all those reasons, and because Shion suddenly realised that the girl standing in front of her was a great person.

"Y-yeah, she's really cute. Really smart too, y'know. And she calls me an idiot on a regular basis, so you guys have that in common," Shion teased, trying to cover for the fact that she was on the brink of turning into a puddle of emotional goo.

She didn't think she could manage much more than that. Already she could feel the tight cage of self-consciousness fisting closed again.

"She _must_ be smart then," Kyoka smirked back.

"Oi, I have feelings somewhere under all this charm!" Shion grinned. "So… do you have any siblings?"

"Nah, got a couple of cousins, but they're really annoying," Kyoka leaned back, easing into the conversation. "They come over most holidays to go through my parents' studio and eat all our food."

By the time they reached the train station and parted ways, Shion's face hurt from smiling… until her exhaustion caught up with her and she fell asleep on the train, almost missed her stop and had to scurry out before the door closed.


	8. Shion Koyama vs Being an Awkward Idiot

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Being an Awkward Idiot**

 **.**

" **Just get on with it, asshole."**

 **-Kiku Koyama**

 **.**

"And then I punched straight through the wall-"

" **Seriously? One punch?"**

" _Well_ … it was more like two punches, y'know… and I might have had to kick at it awhile too," Shion eased back into the sofa cushions. "But all round it was a pretty impressive display, almost unwatchable, if _I_ do say so myself - which I am, saying I mean... right now."

" **If it's 'unwatchable' how'd you get graded?"**

"' _Almost_ unwatchable,' Kiku-chan, like they could still watch but they had to use eye drops and stuff, and their eyes were burning a little from the sheer awesomeness, and I'm pretty sure some of them might have seen God-"

" _Shion,"_ Hanako shot her oldest daughter her third warning look.

The girl in question would have heeded the first one, _if_ she had not found herself with such a captive audience. Koyama Kiku was curled up on the sofa beside her sister, almost swallowed by the army of pillows she had hugged tight to her skinny chest, her full attention on Shion's story (flatteringly edited, of course). With their tastes being so widely different, Shion couldn't remember the last time (if _ever)_ Kiku had shown an interest in her day. It was only unfortunate that said interest happened to crop up during one of her mother's TV shows. Honestly, she was a little surprised Hanako hadn't grabbed her by the belt and _flung_ her out the room yet.

Shion was tempted to point out that Kiku had been talking (well, typing _)_ too, but the ten-year-old was acting like she _enjoyed_ her sister's company for some explicable reason and Shion didn't want to ruin the good vibe. Besides, history had already proven that trying to implicate 'Mama's little baby' only backfired.

"Heh, sorry, Okaa-san."

" **Sorry Mama."**

The sisters lapsed into silence. For all of five seconds.

"Okaa-san, can you at least put something _decent_ on," Shion whined.

"This _is_ decent, Shion-chan," Hanako sniffed. "It's tasteful."

" _Tasteful_?" Shion boggled. "Five angry baboons in drag, fighting over a dude with the personality of a brick?"

Kiku snorted, and Shion shot her a quick grin.

Hanako's recent favourite was a dating series called 'Meet Cute'. Basic dating show premise with the twist being that the host's Quirk was a Romantic Compatibility Reader; and Cupid-sama (the stage name of walking pink bouffant) had already matched the contestants backstage prior to the show. If two contestants chose their pre-matched partner at the end of the date, then both would receive a Dreamy Date ™ courtesy of the show. It _would_ have been pretty entertaining; _if_ the producers had chosen real people instead of shrill cartoon characters.

"I don't think anyone who spends 70% of the time with their finger _shoved_ up their nose, is in any position to tell _me_ about taste~"

Don't let the sing-song tone and brittle smile fool you - Hanako was not so amused. Unsurprising considering all hell had apparently broken loose after Hiroto had called. In true Hiroto fashion, in the space of a five-minute call he'd managed to brag that the job he'd just pulled had been bigger than anything his parents had ever attempted _and_ insinuate (or outright state, according to her father) that Hiroki was 'way past it' and likely to break a hip. Words had been exchanged. Not very nice words. And now, Hiroki was stomping around the house, while Hanako – none too happy about _any_ friction that she couldn't manipulate directly – was making an exaggerated effort to ignore him like he was a sulking toddler.

That left Shion and Kiku caught somewhere in an awkward no man's land.

And no, she wasn't annoyed that her win during the Battle Trial had been overshadowed by her brother. Nor was she annoyed that her parents were too absorbed in their own drama to see they were making everyone else uncomfortable. Although it might look that way to the uneducated eye (or perhaps a more honest one than Shion possessed), she was only annoyed because she was being forced to watch trash TV, and she couldn't even escape to her bedroom without being sucked into one of her father's 'who the fuck does he think he is' tirades. And, _apparently,_ she wasn't even allowed to talk now too. Shion huffed. _This house is a damn Dictatorship._

"It's not 70% of the time..more like 20% at best."

" **More like 80%."**

"At least I don't giggle at my farts in the bathtub," Shion grinned as Kiku's face took on a distinctly tomato-like sheen.

" **I do not."**

"Oh yeah, you do! I can hear you, y'know, 'parp, hehehe, parp, parp'. Like you've got a whole damn woodwind orchestra in there."

" **Go drown in a bathtub."**

"I might not have the chance, if you've been atomic blasting the place first."

" **You're lying. Mama, tell the idiot to stop lying! Mama!"**

"Does your favourite boyband know that you're a fart-sniffer? For shame,Kiku-chan, _for shame-"_

" **Shut up-"**

"You could be back-up vocals, yeah? 'Baby I love you!' _'Parp!'_ 'Baby, you're all I ever need!' ' _Parp',_ guess which bits are yours-"

" _ **BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!"**_

In the wake of their mother's Voice Augmented shriek, the windows rattled, the sofa physically scraped back several inches, the TV lulled into a static whine, and Kiku and Shion both bolted into proper, upright seating positions with the all the appearance and panicked heartbeats of startled rabbits.

" _Now_ , I'm going to get a drink," Hanako stood, smoothing out her figure-hugging skirt with one heavily braceleted hand while the other fluffed at her hair.

"If either of you are dead, bickering or a mixture of the two, I'm going to…" Hanako tapped a perfectly manicured finger against her lip, miming consideration.

"Hm, I'm not entirely sure what I'll do yet, I'll just leave it up to your imaginations~" she paused to smile beatifically, a smile that both daughters knew and feared, a smile that meant she was dangerously close to losing her temper.

It took a while to get their mother sufficiently riled. Their father's moods were far more mercurial, his usual good cheer lost and regained within the span of seconds. It took a good deal more time and effort to crack Hanako's composure. Shion could count the number of times she'd seen Hanako _truly_ furious on one hand, and only had two words of advice for anyone on the receiving end of her mother's vindictive streak: run and pray.

As Hanako swept away, the living room seemed to collectively hold its breath, teetering on the edge of normalcy… then _exhale:_ the TV started crackling to life with a cheesy theme song as if it had never been interrupted, Shion sagged into the sofa cushion, and Kiku started sniffling. Unlike her older sister, Kiku wasn't accustomed to being the target of her parents' ire. As a result, she dealt with disapproval about as well as could be expected for a ten-year-old.

"Aw, c'mon, Kiku-chan. Don't get upset," Shion grimaced.

She lifted a hand to ruffle through Kiku's choppy pink hair, Kiku said nothing but she didn't shove her older sister off either.

"Okaa-san's far more likely to kill me than you, y'know. Or seriously maim me, anyway, pretty sure she wouldn't actually _kill_ me… unless I _really_ pissed her off."

Kiku didn't answer, just continued to scowl at the TV and wilfully ignored any sign of her impending tears. Shion sighed.

"How about we watch one of those nature documentary things, huh? Y'know the ones with that old dude? That'll cheer you up."

" **I don't wanna watch that."**

"Okay, er… isn't that show about the obese cat on soon? Like the cat's a superstar or something and he's got that freaky-looking mouse with the goggle-eyes as a sidekick...what's it called again?"

"… **Para Para Maron-chan?"**

"Yeah, that's the one! It's physically impossible to be upset when watching a 500-pound cat belly-flopping around to bad dance music," Shion grinned as she plucked up the remote and started flicking through channels.

" _In other news, the Miyamoto Consent Case reached its second consecutive day today. The molestation of five-year-old, Miyamoto Ai, by her father, Miyamoto Fuyuki, was called into investigation when she was proven to possess a rare, hereditary Seduction Quirk. Police state that further evidence confirms that the 35-year-old Sales Representative was under the influence of his daughter's Quirk at the time."_

"Holy shit…" Shion breathed. "Well, that, uh, probably didn't help."

That poor family. She couldn't even imagine what they must have been going through. A father watching, _helping_ his daughter grow from a tiny infant - taking her first steps, learning first words, looking up to him like he was going to keep all the nastiness in the world at bay, like he's always going to be there forever and he's always going to keep her safe. And then he hurts her in the worst way imaginable. Not through any choice of his own, Miyamoto Fuyuki had to watch himself destroy all the trust and innocence of his five-year-old daughter. It didn't bear thinking about.

And the saddest part? This was far from an isolated case. In fact, the _only_ reason the Miyamoto Case had been gaining so much traction online and on the news, was because of the victim's relation to the accused, and because this was the first time the accused had been _proven_ to be manipulated by a Quirk. The issue of culpability (especially among 3 to 16-year-olds, an age bracket when it was harder to control your Quirk) had been hot topic for years now. It didn't help that the small portions of those claims that had been proven false were the ones most commonly bandied about online sites.

You couldn't choose your Quirk. Some people couldn't even choose when it activated. But did that make it any less harmful? Did that also mean that those who had drawn the genetic short straw deserved to be prosecuted for it? Shion didn't know. She'd had her fair share of trouble with Muscle Augmentation, nowhere near as traumatic as some others – her own sister case in point. Since she was three, Kiku couldn't talk to anyone without the aid of a tablet. Shion had no idea if her sister would have been a more sociable person without the ostracising barrier, but it surely couldn't have helped.

But she'd also seen the victims of an uncontrollable Quirk – the kids from Hiroto's High School who had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when her brother was seriously pissed off. At the end of the day, Miyamoto Fuyuki still molested his daughter. Whatever the verdict, both of them would have to live with that.

"That's enough of that," Hanako interrupted primly.

Shion blinked. Considering the dark turn her thoughts had taken, she was almost grateful for her mother's current mood. The blonde shifted uncomfortably, feeling slightly like she'd breached for air.

Turning to her daughters, Hanako smiled and clapped her hands as if the previous tension had never existed, " _so,_ who wants cake?"

/-/-/

" **I hate it when he turns up, everyone starts acting weird."**

Shion lifted her head from the cake-induced food coma she had been slipping into. Sprawled spread-eagled out on Kiku's futon, Shion had been absent-mindedly inspecting the army of stuffed toys dominating one corner of her little sister's room. Some of which were truly hideous (the toad one with the gaping mouth and bulging dead-eyed stare in particular), but most were almost sickeningly cutesy. It was one of the little idiosyncrasies of Koyama Kiku that always tickled Shion, how someone as harsh and no-nonsense as her sister could have such girlish taste.

"Who? Onii-san?"

Topics like Hiroto were usually skirted in the Koyama household – anything to avoid puncturing the good mood. Yeah, brushing over any issues like they were meddlesome speed bumps not even worth acknowledging could be a little frustrating - especially when Shion _wanted_ to talk about them, but had no idea where to begin. But truth was there was a lot down there in the murky waters of their family history, and there was no way to guarantee what might start floating up once someone started fishing.

Better to leave it be. Shion was happy, her parents were happy, her siblings were happy… or as happy as she could expect someone as intense as Hiroto and as cynical as Kiku could be, anyway. She didn't like arguments, didn't like fighting and sullen silences and everyone giving each other wounded looks. It was far better when people just learnt to let things go for the good of the group.

But her big brother wasn't something (or someone) Shion was willing to just let go.

At Kiku's nod, Shion's frown grew.

"Hang on, let me show you something."

Groaning with effort, Shion lugged herself towards her room and grabbed her laptop off her desk. Both her parents were preoccupied downstairs with either another fight or ( _shudder)_ 'making up' after their previous one, hence why the sisters had hastily vacated the blast zone.

Upon returning to the land of pink frills and correct homework, Shion curled up beside her little sister and opened a file on her photo gallery. She could understand how her little sister might have gotten the wrong idea about Hiroto – with the ten-year-old being too young to remember their elder brother any differently – but it was a misconception that Shion was determined to clear.

The blonde patted the empty spot beside her and waited for her little sister to scootch in. Eventually curiosity won over Kiku's determination to hold onto her rotten mood, and she leaned in without protest.

"You were really young when he left, y'know. A teeny, tiny, microscopic, little baby," Shion grinned at Kiku's severe frown. "You looked like an angry pea- "

" **Just get on with it, asshole."**

"Alright, alright, relax… anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, you were really young, so you probably don't remember anything except for when things started getting a little…" Shion paused, flopping her head about as she searched for the right words before settling on, " _weird_."

Kiku scowled at her pointedly.

"Okay, _more_ than a little weird. So first up: Chibi Hiroto!"

The very first picture in the file was of a seven-year-old Koyama Hiroto. Unruly blond hair poking stubbornly from underneath a Fukuoka Softbank Hawks cap, dressed in a matching baseball outfit, the little boy in the picture was smiling in a way Kiku hadn't thought her older brother capable of. He had a battered baseball bat slung over one skinny shoulder, his thin eyes slanted upwards in a beaming smile and the smile itself was so huge, so proud, so carefree. One pudgy hand was flashing a thumbs-up at the camera, a gesture that was eerily reminiscent of Shion's, and behind him Kiku could just make out the greenery and picnicking families typical of city park bathed in the orange, gold glow of a setting sun.

"Cute, huh? Onii-san used to be big into his baseball. Loved the Hawks before we even moved here. You should have seen him play, I swear I've never seen a kid happier than him when he was playing baseball!" Shion kept up her running commentary as she clicked onto the next one.

The next one was a topless Hiroto, frowning with intense concentration as he tried to watch a cartoon and eat cereal simultaneously. From the amount of milk and multi-coloured wheat hoops decorating the cardboard box come dining table, it wasn't going very well. He had to have been around Kiku's age now, and judging from the bareness of the room and stockpile of cardboard boxes they'd been in the process of another move.

"We used to move a lot more before...well, y'know, Okaa-san and Tou-san 'went away for a bit'-"

 **"You can just say 'got banged up for a few years'."**

"You're kinda ruining the magic here, Kiku-chan," Shion frowned at her, but restrained herself from saying anything else in case her little sister banished her from the room.

Hanako co-starred alongside her son in the next one. The pink-haired woman was dolled up within an inch of her life; eyelashes huge, lipstick cherry red, navy dress a carpet of star-like diamantes and dipping scandalously low between her breasts, her hair teased and sprayed until she looked like some movie starlet. In direct contrast to his mother's glamour, the little boy scowled and pouted on her hip. He had knocked his bowtie askew and managed to do away with several buttons on his waistcoat, and Kiku was pretty sure that the stains on his trouser legs were either from grass or mud or both. Clearly 'Chibi Hiroto' didn't enjoy being paraded around by their parents any more than Kiku did.

"Oh man, I forgot about this one," Shion laughed. "Apparently, Tou-san and Okaa-san were trying to promote the whole 'family' image to this guy who was gonna hire them for a job, but he only wanted his team to have family values…I dunno, something about loyalty and having something to lose, and stuff."

" _Anyway,_ they take Onii-san to this big, fancy meal – I mean, they should have known better, y'know, because Onii-san was a real little shit when he was a kid, and even worse when you tried to make him do something he didn't wanna do," Shion winced and grinned simultaneously. "Apparently, he's _still_ banned from that restaurant, and it's been about… er, 17 years. They even had to pay the chef off for 'emotional damage' because the poor guy felt _that_ traumatised."

Kiku huffed a laugh at that, despite her determination not to be entertained by anything Hiroto did or said.

Shion was still laughing to herself as she clicked on the next one.

"Ah, I think I turned up around here – heh, sorry, I was _spawned onto the unassuming world,"_ Shion said as if it weren't abundantly obvious by the pink blob Hiroto had cradled in his arms.

Kiku had a dry retort there about the world unassuming and the over-abundance of idiots born into it. But her idiot sister seemed to be enjoying this too much for Kiku to interrupt. Besides, she guessed it was… _kind of_ interesting.

In the picture, the eight-year-old boy had an intense look of concentration on his face as he gingerly held his baby sister. Considering that his Quirk would have surely developed by then, Hiroto's caution wasn't unwarranted. Shion was a big baby (more than an armful for a young boy), but that was a problem negated by their father circling Hiroto's arms, holding both his first-born children in a loose hug.

Their father took a more prominent role in the next ones. A six-year-old Hiroto sitting atop Hiroki's shoulders, cheering amid a backdrop of banners and excited festival goers.

Hiroto aged ten and sporting a gap-toothed grin, both father and son in matching sunglasses, flexing their muscles for the camera.

Preteen Hiroto in what Kiku supposed must have been his Middle School Baseball club gear, Hiroki with a beefy arm slung around the boy's shoulders and beaming with intense pride. Hiroto was unusually tall and broad even then, but looked dwarfed next to Hiroki.

A three-year-old Hiroto building a sand castle at the beach with his father, a serious affair by the pair's expressions not diminished by the presence of Hiroki's infamous speedos. Hanako's photogenic smile took up much of one corner, presumably edged in so she could simultaneously hold the camera and get in shot.

"They were really close," Shion breathed - even if Kiku hadn't picked up on the sombre mood, her sister's voice would have confirmed the shift in tone.

"I mean, I get that Tou-san loves us all, but him and Onii-san…he was his son, y'know, it was a different relationship. They just used to _get_ each other, talk about everything and anything. That was the whole reason I started listening to the same music and stuff, because I just wanted a small _part_ of what they had. Stupid, yeah?" Shion chuckled, equal parts self-deprecation and lingering embarrassment. "It was just – when they were together you felt like they could…well, they were really close."

'Used to' and 'were'. Kiku didn't fully understand all the ins-and-outs of the schism that had occurred when their parents were arrested, and their nineteen-year-old brother had had to single-handedly try to support them all – truthfully, Kiku wasn't entirely sure she _wanted_ to know. Even the concept of her parents (her mother, in particular) failing somehow in such a crucial way made Kiku incredibly uncomfortable.

 _But_ … she couldn't imagine the father and son in Shion's pictures ending a five-minute phone call with shouted insults. They just seemed like different people entirely, as if they belonged to some near-identical alternate dimension. Presumably one where Hiroto wasn't such a massive asshole.

" _Anyway,_ here's where the good stuff starts! _"_ Shion grinned, a transparent attempt at lightening the mood.

Kiku was hesitant to find out what constituted 'the good stuff,' and huffed a laugh when the answer was apparently Shion. Little Shion with a cap of curly blonde hair, following her brother about like an awkward duckling. There were pictures of costumed rangers striking victory pose, Shion's mask hanging precariously about her pudgy neck while Hiroto ruffled a hand through her hair.

There were trips to an amusement park, where a five-year-old Shion and her thirteen-year-old brother clutched at a bouquet of confectionary, chocolate staining their mouths and eyes creased in beaming grins. There was a harassed-looking fifteen-year-old Hiroto craning his neck to give his little sister clinging to the back of his bike a telling-off. Another of Shion and Hiroto wrestling on the sofa, a match that Shion was badly losing if the pudgy red-face and pout were any indication.

There was a fourteen-year-old Hiroto with a serious expression, as he used his Quirk to carry a sleeping six-year-old Shion from the cab of a rented van, their father slumped against the wheel sleepily chugging at coffee in the background. There was a seventeen-year-old Hiroto, in a High School Uniform that was untucked and unbuttoned and clearly unmoved by school dress code, with his elbow propped on the head of his little sister, exasperation tinged with fondness as the girl pulled a face for the camera.

The next picture was familiar because it was one of the few that Hanako had deemed nice enough to be framed in the entry hall. Nine-year-old Shion sitting in her mother's lap in a colourful Yukata, her halo of unruly, blonde hair had been painstakingly curled into something approaching cherubic, and her curved purple eyes stared bewildered at the camera. Both mother and son were also dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, Hanako's Kimono a pale blue inlaid with tiny embroidered Sakura blossoms that matched the shade of her hair. A seventeen-year-old Hiroto stood over them both, his expression protective and intense as he laid a hand on his mother's shoulder. Kiku had always hated that photo. She'd always felt like her older brother was looking directly at _her,_ like he was threatening _her_ to back off. Kiku felt herself glaring back, only aware of her hostile expression when Shion clicked onto the next picture.

In the last photograph, Shion was still a toddler, visibly shaky on her stumpy, little legs but guided by the little boy holding carefully onto her hand. They were in a garden (presumably not their own, since neither of their parents had anything resembling a green thumb), and Shion had squatted slightly to inspect something hiding among the huge, leafy ferns; safely tethered by Hiroto keeping vigilant watch.

The photos stopped after that, though Kiku could see by the marker at the edge of the screen that there were more in the gallery. Shion could have probably rambled and reminisced well into the small hours of the morning, but that would involve touching on the subject that she'd been careful to dance around. Besides, Hiroto wasn't the same after their parents arrest and the subsequent shit show. It would defeat the point entirely to show Kiku the only version of her older brother that the little girl knew.

"See, _this_ is the Hiroto I remember. He was the best big brother, Kiku-chan, seriously the best!" she laughed softly, eyes glued to the screen. "I just wish I could make you understand how great he was."

But Kiku wasn't looking at the photos, she was watching her sister's face closely. Every little minute expression. The tilt to Shion's mouth and the wistfulness in her eyes told a story, a story Kiku had never and _could_ never be part of - especially now that everything was different.

" **This is stupid. I don't want to look anymore."**

"Huh? But…" Shion watched the girl's guarded expression closely for a moment, before yawning hugely. "Yeah, well, it's kind of late and this is getting a little heavy, yeah?"

Shion made a show of standing, tucking her laptop under her arm with a grin, "gotta get my beauty sleep!"

" **You're gonna need it."**

"Oh, ouch, such cruelty, Kiku-chan! Is this the thanks I get?" she was only half joking.

She also knew that she was pushing it a little by lingering in a probably emotionally taxed Kiku's room but, with her parents otherwise disposed, there was no one else for her to badger. Shion would rather not sit alone in her room, trying to fight boredom until she eventually fell asleep.

" **For what?"**

"For putting up with your ungrateful, midget ass, apparently," Shion shrugged. "I'm gonna need a medal for all this, y'know, or a T-Shirt, at least – 'I survived Koyama Kiku, and all I got was this lousy-"

Before she could even finish, Kiku pointedly slipped underneath the sheets and pulled them up to her chin. **"Goodnight, Nee-san."**

"Yeah, night, Kiku-chan," Shion smiled.

At the door, her hand paused on the handle. She'd dropped a lot on Kiku tonight, and it probably didn't help that their parents were so obviously affected by the situation. Being the youngest, Kiku was the one who usually took the brunt of any turmoil. Constantly moving schools, all the clashing and competing egos in the house, the looming threat of another arrest, and now the changes involved by her attendance to U.A. – Shion was older and had learnt her own methods of dealing with all that (mainly by _ignoring_ it, but hey, it worked for her). Kiku was only _ten,_ and it wasn't like she had anyone to talk to. At least, she seemed a hell of a lot stronger emotionally than Shion had been at that age, but she was still a kid.

Shion just didn't want Kiku to think U.A. or Hiroto changed the fact that she was her little sister. She wanted to tell Kiku that she could talk to her – even if Shion wasn't even remotely sure _how_ she'd handle having a very honest, very intimate conversation like that. _Someone_ had to keep an eye out for Kiku, just like Hiroto had kept an eye out for Shion while growing up. She'd thought she was doing a pretty decent job, but going over those photos had really highlighted how inadequate she'd been. As loving as their parents were, they tended to get wrapped up in their own immediate, personal dramas at times; and there were some things you just _couldn't_ talk to them about without causing a fight _._

"Oi, er, Kiku-chan…" Shion faltered as her little sister's head peeked from the duvet, her blue eyes wary.

 _Shit, why is this so hard?_

"I-I just…what I wanted to, y'know… _say_ was…" Shion almost choked entirely, drumming nervously on her legs as she floundered by the door. "You can talk to me, y'know? ...If you want to. And, yeah…"

After a few seconds of silence, she smiled queasily, "so that was what I wanted to say. About the talking stuff. Er, goodnight."

Shion moved to practically run into her room – which was looking a hell of a lot more inviting now that she'd made an utter idiot of herself – when Kiku spoke (typed, whatever).

" **N** **ee-san…"**

 _Shit, not now! Don't panic, you literally_ just _told her she could talk to you!_

"Yo?" Shion gave an awkward little wave as she pivoted back around.

 _What the fuck are you doing? What even was that! Just smile and pray she doesn't notice that you're five seconds away from spontaneously combusting with embarrassment._

" **Never mind."** Kiku slumped, morosely turning over to face the wall again.

Shion hovered again. She was reasonably sure Kiku _had,_ in fact, very much wanted to say something just then. But she also knew that trying to force Kiku into anything would only make the ten-year-old stubbornly clam up. In the end, she took the coward's way out and tried to ignore the lingering feeling of unease.

"Okay, see you tomorrow, yeah?"

" **Yeah. Hey, Nee-san…"**

"Yep?"

"… **Thanks."**

With her back still facing her, Shion couldn't gauge her little sister's reaction but she knew Kiku was the sort of person who found a punch to the face preferable to being openly grateful (or affectionate, for that matter). To tell someone 'thank you' translated to Kiku as telling someone you appreciated them, and telling someone you appreciated them invited all sorts of rejection or hurt – and _that_ took a tremendous leap of faith for someone as naturally inclined towards mistrust as Kiku was. Honestly, a 'thank you' from Kiku was about as valuable as an 'I love you' from anyone else. Shion could _feel_ her heart physically melt a little.

"Anytime, Kiku-chan," smiling softly, Shion gently pulled the door closed behind her.

/-/-/

It was far later than was wise for a school night before Shion finally dropped off into sleep that night. After the Battle Trial, her body was aching pile of mush, so it definitely wasn't a case of the late night fidgets that kept her awake. Her mind, however, had been a different story. Feeling a little lost and anxious, she stared up at her ceiling until she eventually managed to drift off.

Come morning, Shion looked like one of her horror movie posters. She'd gotten up late, which meant she'd had breakfast late, which meant that her (already lengthy) beauty regime took up more of her rapidly disappearing free time. Yawning hugely, Shion arrived at Hakata Station just in time to watch her train leave. _Which meant_ she'd have to find a different train to Musutafu, buy a different ticket and get to the correct station – all in all, yet another panicked headache.

 _Stupid brain keeping me awake until stupid o'clock, I'd punch you if we weren't stuck in this shit together!_

Her prickly mood wasn't much improved upon seeing the roomy train she _usually_ took had been replaced with a proverbial sardine can of office workers and students all crushed together.

Every other person either seemed to have had some sort of industrial bath in body spray, _or_ had never heard of the word hygiene. There was the obligatory crazy person conducting a passionate debate with the gum on his shoe soles in the corner. Despite not seeing anyone under twelve, the continuous, irritating wail of a baby crying echoed through the carriage as if the sound had been imbedded in the train itself. The intrusive drone of strangers talking, strangers listening to their music, strangers coughing or yawning or grumbling or laughing.

Shion shoved her earphones in, and tried to think non-violent thoughts about the guy who'd been jabbing her with his elbows for past five minutes. Calm thoughts… accompanied by furious Death Metal, but _calm thoughts_ nonetheless.

Shion wasn't the only one having trouble acclimatising to the human Jenga. A plum-faced old woman had boarded at the last stop, her tiny body bundled up in a large, quilted coat with a pair of tattered bat wings peeking out from the bottom and dragging along the floor behind her. Too small to reach the handholds and too frail to intimidate anyone into making space for her, the old woman struggled to find her balance.

 _Someone should do something. Someone should give up their seat._ But the rest of the passengers seemed content to ignore the old woman's plight in favour of their comfort. She didn't imagine that they were being deliberately spiteful - no one wanted to draw attention to themselves and there was _always_ the possibility of danger involved in coming to the aid of a stranger. There were news reports and official statistics about public responsibility increasing in correlation to Hero media coverage; but Shion thought that it came with the hidden downside that everyone was also more consciously aware of how unhinged some people could be - especially when most of the 'Villains' covered were jilted partners, or stressed employees who'd had an exceedingly bad day and just decided to take it out on a bunch of bystanders. More than likely, they were all sitting waiting for someone else to do something just like Shion was.

That still didn't make it right, though.

 _Well, if no one else will…_

"Yo, Obaa-san!" Shion called, half-rising from her seat.

In the brief few seconds it took to glance down and locate her backpack, the old woman had disappeared from view. Shion craned her neck, dumbfounded to find the old woman now easing into the seat across from her. The old woman smiled gratefully up at the teenage boy who had just vacated his seat for her, even patting his hand affectionately when the boy just nodded (a little curtly) at her gesture.

Only when he glanced back in her direction, did Shion realise that she was still hovering, half-perched, over her seat. She blinked, her look of astonishment rapidly morphing into a wide, encouraging grin. _Nice one, crazy-haired dude!_ Shion even flashed him a thumbs-up just to cement how much she (and the old lady) had appreciated seeing that proof of basic human decency.

He didn't look like the type to give up his seat for old ladies. What with his purple, mad scientist hairstyle, the deep bags under his eyes and unapproachable, apathetic expression. The look of cool disinterest he levelled at Shion seemed far more in character. He both registered and dismissed Shion in a single look, turning his thin back to her as his tired eyes meandered back to the window. Shion's grin slumped downwards with all the grace of a wet fart.

 _Rude._ Shion turned up the volume of her music, by the time she'd arrived at U.A the entire encounter had already slipped her mind. By some miracle, Shion wasn't late - although it was a close thing. She just managed to dive into her desk when Aizawa-sensei trundled into the room like a gathering storm cloud.

"Hope you're all rested from yesterday's Battle Trial," he began without preamble. "I took the liberty of looking at your marks and evaluation."

Shion, who had only just caught her breath from her bad dash to the classroom, instantly deflated again. _Well_ _, it's not like I care about doing well in Hero Studies._ Still, Koyama Hanako had always been a far more pressing incentive for grades than any report card. Hopefully, Hiroto had provided enough of a distraction, and there wasn't much Shion could do about it now, anyway.

"Yo, Jirou-chan," Shion whispered to the girl beside her whole Aizawa-sensei verbally tore into Bakugou like a blunt scalpel. "Sorry I'm late, got caught by a talent scout."

"Uh-huh."

"Oh yeah," Shion chuckles at the other girl's flat tone. "He had a net and everything, kept shouting 'crikey'. I'm pretty sure he was a talent scout since they had a film crew and stuff, but he _did_ shoot me with a couple of elephant tranquilizers so..."

Shion grinned ans shrugged.

"You can still bullshit after a couple of elephant tranquilizers?" Kyoka raised her brows. " _Wow, Koyama-chan, I'm impressed."_

"Well, I might start drooling in a sec, but that's not shockingly out of character so you probably won't notice, huh?"

Kyoka actually smirked at that one.

"Whatever, I'm glad you made it. I wouldn't have had anyone to laugh at if you hadn't turned up," Kyoka said with a small, genuine smile.

"See, I knew you'd warm up to me," Shion replied with a pleased smile. "You'll be a puddle of jelly in a week tops. I'm taking every sarcastic comment as a declaration of your undying love from now on, y'know."

As Kyoka's smirk ticked upwards, a sense of foreboding began to rumble in Shion's stomach.

"Jirou-chan, say something so I can prove your undying love," Shion whisper-whined.

Oh yeah, there was a definite sadistic glint in Kyoka's eyes now. Well, game on! Shion already thought she was irritating enough, but the blonde could be downright insufferable when she _really_ put her mind to it. She bet she could get Kyoka to crack after a few public power ballads and a disturbingly accurate impression of a gorilla.

"Now let's get on with the Homeroom notices... I'm sorry to have to spring this on you all, but..." Aizawa continued, drawing Shion's attention away from nefarious plotting. "We need to pick a class president."

For reasons beyond Shion's understanding, the room immediately erupted into cheers.


	9. Shion Koyama vs Megane-kun

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

Oh my god, you guys TT-TT the response to last chapter was the highest I've received yet, and I'd like to thank each and every reviewer, reader, follower and favourite again!

Also, the passage of time seems a little indistinct in the manga so I've tried to space out events a little.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Megane-kun**

 **.**

" **Y'know, without the man-boobs and stuff."**

 **-Shion Koyama**

 **.**

It was an almost unchangeable truth that food could be counted upon to raise the weariest of Koyama Shion's spirits. After her classmates' impromptu frenzy for Class President, Shion had been placing her faith in a pilgrimage to Lunch Rush's (praise be upon him) cafeteria. Despite an ample amount of whining and prodding Kyoka to hurry, by the time they reached it the cafeteria was packed from floor to ceiling with other true believers. Bar rushing the queue like some sort of Anpan crazed bull, Shion had no other choice but to slump morosely at the back of the line. _What is with today, I seem to be running late to everything!_

"I just don't get why everyone went mental like that, y'know. It's only Class President, I mean who wants all the extra responsibility," Shion shrugged.

"Er, most of the class," Kyoka answered.

"Well okay, _yeah_ … but I just don't get it," the blonde sighed, rocking back on her heels as she tried to mentally will the line to go faster.

"Don't worry about it, Koyama-chan," Kyoka dismissed easily. "But, for real though, were you the one who voted for me?"

"Huh? Oh, for the Class President thing? Well, yeah," half distracted by the beckoning scent of meat broth, Shion laughed with confusion.

She would have thought that much would've been obvious. Not that it had done much good anyway, since Midoriya and Momo-hime were still selected as Class President and Vice President respectively. Though that left the question, why was Kyoka looking so bashful in the face of Shion's answer? Just because Shion didn't give a wet shit about who was calling the Class Roster each morning, didn't mean she was going to shun anyone who did – especially if that 'anyone' included Kyoka.

 _She's probably just shy._ Which was terribly adorable, and a little disorientating considering Kyoka's usual blunt attitude. Also, a novelty when it came to Shion's usual choice of friends – but then again, none of Shion's previous fair-weather friends had bothered to ask her about her family life, or _been_ bothered by the fact that they knew next to nothing about it, so…

"Er… thanks, you didn't have to do that," Kyoka mumbled.

"Pretty sure Megane-kun would've had a brain aneurysm or something if I'd passed up on the whole thing. He's scary intense, y'know," Shion grinned. "But don't mention it, man, it's not a big deal!"

"I mean, you didn't have to vote for me just because we're friends and stuff."

"Well, yeah, that was a big part of it but really I thought you'd be good for the job. I mean, you were really cool when you stood up to that Bakugou guy and - wait a minute," Shion stiffened, expression twitching with a mixture of elation and doubt. "D-did you just say we were friends?"

"…Yeah?" Kyoka raised a brow, further embarrassed and a little suspicious.

She subtly side-stepped, suddenly feeling like she was standing next to the emotional equivalent of a land-mine when Shion only continued to gape at her, face twitching spastically and blush deepening to an almost painful degree. Kyoka braced - had she broken her or something. And then…

"Ah!" nearly everyone in the nearby vicinity glanced round as the blonde yelled and grabbed her face.

"What are you doing?" Kyoka hissed, glancing about at the enquiring looks with a mounting anxiety.

"I don't know! I don't know what to do with my face right now!"

"Stopping mauling it might be a good start!"

 _Holy shit, how embarrassing!_ More so for Kyoka. Shion had no issue with playing up to the crowd for a laugh, but Kyoka already seemed to shy under scrutiny – and now, they had ten strangers staring at them. _Great._ Just when she'd earned Kyoka's friendship, she could lose it all because she was a relentless idiot!

 _Why am I like this!?_ Honestly, Shion didn't know what came over her. It's just – well, she never expected Kyoka to just _hand_ her friendship over so easily. Or even openly acknowledge Shion's attempts, for that matter. Instead of being granted the time to hog-tie down any inappropriate reactions, Kyoka's unprompted acceptance had seemed to kick open the lid without warning. Shion was relatively sure that some very essential wiring misfired somewhere in her brain, the kind that encouraged her to act like a, y'know… actual human being instead of a total nutcase.

"Erm… just ignore that minor outburst," Shion flapped her hands at the bewildered audience.

" _Minor,"_ Kyoka muttered.

Choosing to ignore her, Shion continued, "I was just, y'know, practicing a play-"

"Sounds like it stinks!"

"You're right, anonymous guy, it _does_ stink hence the practicing!" Shion grinned, hoping it didn't look as awkward as it felt. "Just go about your business. Please."

When everyone had shifted their attention away (bar a few odd looks and pointed whispers), Shion spun to face Kyoka with a queasy smile, "heh. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Kyoka sighed. "Just don't do it again. Seriously _, don't_ do it again."

"Got it!" Shion grinned and flashed a thumbs-up, before tapping at her leg nervously. " _So…_ are we still cool?"

"We're still cool," Kyoka smiled.

Unable to conceal her relief, Shion continued to grin like an idiot as the duo finally reached the service window. Kyoka on the other hand tried not to draw any more attention. She wasn't entirely sure what to the do with the other girl's obvious happiness, _or_ what she'd even done to deserve such a reaction. It was a little odd, but Koyama Shion _was_ a little odd… and truthfully, it was a little flattering too. Honestly, the blonde was a total goof, like a massive, blonde puppy really… but there was something kind of charming about that level of sincerity.

"…Are you _sure_ it's fine?" Shion edged.

"It's fine, seriously, just get your food," Kyoka sighed, simultaneously fond and exasperated.

Replaying the other day's modus-operandi, Shion flitted about indecisively until Kyoka lost patience and moved her along. Trays laden with food, the two girls were faced with the problem of trying to find seats in the heaving swell of student bodies.

"Hey! Shion-chan!" like a life raft in a sea of teenagers, Ashido Mina's pink arm shot up and waved them over.

"Nice, thanks Mina-chan! C'mon, Jirou-chan," Shion bustled towards the group of Class 1A students.

Kyoka, however, hesitated, "… I dunno."

"Eh? There's nothing to worry about, Mina-chan's pretty cool. It'll be fine, I promise!"

"I guess…"

"Where else are we gonna sit, huh?" Shion waggled a brow, grinning as Kyoka finally conceded that she had a point.

The smaller girl trundled after Shion. It took a conscious effort not to look too uneasy as she was cramped in by their fellow classmates, most of which neither of them had spoken more than three words to.

"Just, like, squeeze in anywhere, okay?" Mina urged, friendly grin in place as she shuffled about the existing company.

As the more gregarious of the two, Shion took the lead, plopping down opposite Mina and next to Kirishima Eijirou. Kyoka perched on the other side of her and at the end of the table, tensed for a quick getaway should things become _too_ rowdy.

"Oh, hey, Koyama-chan!" Eijirou beamed.

"Yo!" Shion grinned back, before presenting Kyoka as if she were the top prize on a gameshow. "I don't think you've all met my _friend,_ Jirou Kyoka!"

"Please don't introduce me like that," Kyoka sighed.

A pink hand was thrust into Kyoka's face. Blinking rapidly, Kyoka took it and momentarily found herself on the receiving end of a _very_ exuberant hand-shake.

"Hey, Ashido Mina but call me Mina-chan, okay?" Mina's smile was so wide and bright, it was almost _intimidatingly_ cheerful.

"Got it."

"And this here is Kirishima Eijirou-"

"Koyama-chan, we met at literally the same time you did," Kyoka tried to interrupt in vain.

"Kirishima-kun, I don't believe you've met my _friend,_ Jirou Kyoka!"

Kyoka just slapped a hand against her face.

"Is she always like this?" Sero Hanta whispered from his place opposite Kyoka.

"Pretty much," Kyoka shrugged, as Shion regaled Mina with her afore-mentioned 'shooting milk from the nose' trick.

The two shared a sympathetic look, temporarily comrades in arms.

"So, what did everyone think of the Battle Trial yesterday?" Hanta addressed the table conversationally, spearing a Radish from his salad.

"Oh, man, it was great!" Eijirou enthused, even clenching his fist and flashing a determined, shark-toothed grin.

"You're joking, right?" Denki scoffed from further up the table.

"Huh, no way! You can't say you didn't get pumped up, going out in our costumes to do battle, just two teams fighting it out – it was awesome!" Eijirou protested.

"Well, _I_ thought it was really fun!" Mina cheered.

"That's only because _your_ match was like a comedy sketch," Denki grinned and shrugged.

"C'mon, that's a little harsh…" Hanta edged.

Though there really was no need since Shion was anything but offended. She'd been scarfing down her food first least she suffered another meal interrupted like last time, but finally perked up.

"No worries, I aim to please!" she flashed a thumbs-up.

Eijirou snorted through a mouthful of soda, before patting her roughly on the back, "that's the spirit, Koyama-chan!"

"It _was_ pretty funny, I guess," Mina added. "I'm just glad me and Yuuga-kun didn't have to go against that Bakugou guy. Urgh, I get chills just thinking about it!"

"You and me both," Hanta shuddered.

"Aw, c'mon, he's not _that_ bad…" Eijirou edged.

"Seriously?" Kyoka gave him a flat look. "Frankly speaking, the guy's been a total ass to everyone."

"Yeah, there are actual deathtraps I'd rather get closer to than him, it's like the guy's powered solely by rage," Denki gave Eijirou a disbelieving look.

"Well…" Eijirou trailed off uncomfortably under her blunt stare.

"Y'know, I'd rather take on explodey-balls than have another Math lesson," Shion groaned, hoping to both change the topic and rescue a floundering Eijirou. "These advanced classes are killing me!"

"Wah, why did you even bring that up, Shion-chan!" Mina wailed.

"You do know that's what we've got next, right?" Kyoka added with a small amount of sadistic satisfaction.

Denki sprayed a mouthful of rice across the table as he shot a fearful look at the purple-haired girl. Mina and Shion just looked like they'd been personally wounded.

"Oh, hey, that reminds me," Eijirou perked up, "did anyone else get interviewed on the way into school?"

"How did Kaminari-kun dribbling rice remind you of that?" Hanta voiced incredulously.

Displaying either the emotional elasticity of a plastic band or the memory of a goldfish, Shion immediately snapped out of her previous slump.

"Eh? Interviewed?"

"Yeah, there were news teams outside and everything," Eijirou blinked back at her, confused by _her_ confusion.

"You were late, Koyama-chan, so you probably missed them," Kyoka provided.

"I got interviewed!" Mina sang victoriously. "They just asked a bunch of questions about All Might. They said I had real TV talent though, which was pretty cool!"

"Yeah, me too," Hanta shrugged. "But it's kinda weird to have news crews outside our _school_ , right?"

"Yeah, I knew going to U.A. would be different… but I didn't expect to get this much attention, this early on. When we actually had our licenses or something, sure," Kyoka frowned.

"Right, but maybe it's a good thing? Like we might catch the attention of a Pro earlier on," Eijirou suggested.

Privately, Shion thought that U.A.'s students shouldn't be getting any attention _at all._ Not just because media coverage had never been the best thing for a fifteen-year-old (especially in Japan), but also because having Hero students faces broadcasted for all the world to see didn't seem to be the wisest move. Wasn't she here precisely _because_ collecting information on future Heroes was a potentially profitable business? Shion frowned to herself, grateful for once that she'd missed her normal train. She just hoped Kyoka hadn't been interviewed.

"Heh. They probably heard that there was a really cool guy going here," Denki grinned smugly, slouching back in his seat as if he was the hottest thing to ever walk U.A.'s halls. "Just saying."

"Yeah? Who's that then," without missing a beat, Kyoka cut him down.

As Denki's smug expression ghosted, Mina, Shion and Eijirou broke out into laughter. Even Hanta allowed himself a more subdued chuckle.

"Alright laugh it up," Denki shot them an irritated look, before grumbling, "tch, I wish I had a Quirk like yours, Koyama-chan, chicks would _definitely_ dig all those muscles. It's just wasted on a girl."

"What're you talking about, look at all my _fine_ lady friends~" Shion winked at a bland-faced Kyoka with such exaggeration. The already disastrous attempt at looking cool was further thwarted as Kyoka nonchalantly reached out and smacked Shion upside the back of her head.

"Ow, Jirou-chan!" Shion laughed, rubbing at the offended area. "Are you sure you're not secretly my mom?"

"I bet your mom's super ripped, huh?" Eijirou breathed, already imagining a moustached bodybuilder in a flowery apron. _How manly!_

"I value my life, Kirishima-kun, so I'm gonna have to say no," Shion squirmed, uncomfortable.

She didn't like discussing her Quirk, or measuring Quirks at all for that matter. It had a nasty habit of getting really personal, really quickly; and Shion didn't want to ruin the good vibe.

"And besides, my Quirk's not that great or anything, y'know. There's some really cool Quirks around this table."

Denki smirked and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head in the very picture of breezy confidence, "exhibit A: Kaminari Denk-what the hell is that!?"

Seeing a room full of previously animated teenagers, _simultaneously_ stop still at the sound of a booming klaxon was a little surreal. Instinctively, heads searched about for the source of the disruption, as a confused murmur rippled throughout the Lunch Hall.

"Is that…a siren?" Hanta voiced, rather redundantly.

" **Security Level 3 has been breached. Students, please promptly evacuate,"** a robotic voice droned, giving further rise to the burgeoning sense of hysteria.

"Security Level 3! What does that mean!" Eijirou yelled at no-one in particular.

"Aw shit, that can't be good," Denki was looking ill.

Shion couldn't say who moved first. In the space of seconds, everyone went from sitting down and staring anxiously at one another, to a unified stampede of screaming students scrambling for the door. In the mad rush, someone tripped and went sprawling into Shion, forcing the blonde against the table. Trays went flying. People clambered over benches. And through it all, the same siren and calm robotic message replayed, a blaring oxymoron to the madness ensuing in the Lunch Hall.

In all honesty, she wasn't exactly sure what the source of her panic _wa_ s – surely, the rational part of her reasoned, the teachers would deal with the issue before any intruder managed to storm a room full of students. But rationality was something that was becoming increasingly hard to hold onto when the collective panic of 80+ students was so thick it was almost a tangible presence.

Despite being momentarily distracted by a chopstick that almost wedged itself up her nose, Shion freed herself from her seat. She was half-way to shimmying herself off the bench when she caught sight of Jirou Kyoka. Jirou Kyoka who looked oddly uninterested in the surrounding chaos. Shion's confusion was so strong, it stoppered the fog of communal hysteria. The blonde's face scrunched up, limbs lax as she spun on her heel and jogged over to where Kyoka was perched on one of the benches farthest from the ongoing melee.

"Yo, Jirou-chan!"

Kyoka glanced up from where she'd been frowning at her nails.

"Why aren't you…y'know, fleeing in terror and stuff?"

"Why _are_ you?" the smaller teen raised both brows.

 _That is a_ very _good question._ Stumped, Shion plopped down beside her.

"You're pretty cool, Jirou-chan."

"So you've said," Kyoka smirked. "…But thanks."

"So wise," Shion gave a reverential nod. "Like Buddha."

Kyoka's expression was less than impressed, as she paused to side-eye her companion.

"Y'know, without the man-boobs and stuff."

" _Thanks,_ Koyama-chan."

"No worries, Jirou-chan."

It all looked rather silly now that Shion was removed (both mentally and physically) from the situation. Not that running away from a potential threat was silly, just that no one knew what the threat _was_ or _where_ they should be evacuating to. Then again, it had been a kind of bizarre day all round and Shion was content to relinquish any hope of trying to make sense of it.

The pair watched the writhing crush of shouting students, and for a moment it felt so natural that Shion was slightly perturbed. Yeah, she'd wanted to make some friends - the idea of being some loner was tantamount to ritual suicide in Shion's books (U.A. or not), but she never thought she'd actually want to be friends with one of them _this much._ Nor had she anticipated how kickass said friend would be. It probably wouldn't end well. 'Probably' wasn't 'definitely', however, and if Shion had managed to make it through the shaky introduction period without anyone cottoning onto her less than conventional family background then the rest of the school year should be pretty easy, right?

Bar the Hero stuff, Shion had been repeatedly surprised by how normal it felt to be here, everyday school stuff like lockers and gossip and soul-crushing Math lessons. Things had tended to work out for her so far – well, _except_ for the whole being strong-armed into enrolling in the first place. She was happy _right now_ , so there was no sense worrying about it.

Feeling quietly content with her lot in life, Shion reached out behind the pair with one arm and combed through the leftover trays. While they were here, she might as well…

"Want an Anpan?"

/-/-/

The whole 'stampeding herd of students' thing turned out to be for naught. No nefarious intruders were discovered, just _intrusive_ reporters who were eventually escorted away from the premises by the police. After wading through the corridor, upperclassmen had arrived on the scene to assess the damage. They'd eventually found Kyoka and Shion in the vacated cafeteria, the latter having enough self-awareness to stuff the rest of the Anpan in her mouth and smile apologetically. The blue-haired girl had only giggled, patted her on the head and shooed them both off to their homeroom like they were children out past bedtime.

By the time the pair had trotted to the classroom, the rest of the Class 1A had already assembled. Shion brushed some circumspect crumbs from her jacket, and tried to look attentive as Momo-hime and little Midoriya took centre stage.

"All right, President, start us off," Momo was as serious-faced as ever.

Midoriya less so.

"Uh, let us initiate the ceremony for the new class President… but before that I need to say something!" the longer he spoke, the more he seemed to crumble under the attention.

 _Aww, even his freckles are trembling!_ Even if seeing him get the shit kicked out of him by a sociopathic bag of rage hadn't kicked off Shion's protective instincts, Midoriya would have been one of the cutest things in the room. Bar a Hero obsession and the weird mumbling thing, he seemed like a genuinely decent guy. She just hoped he stayed that way. Although Midoriya remaining untouched by the more unsavoury realities of the Hero culture was unlikely at U.A., it was not _impossible._

"In the end, I think that Iida-kun would be the better man for the job after all," Midoriya smiled in the face of Iida's obvious shock. "You proved yourself able to unify people so coolly and it's my judgement that Iida-kun becoming the Class President is the right choice."

"Yeah, he's got a point! Iida-kun made a great showing back there at the Lunchroom! I wouldn't have minded Midoriya-kun either, of course!" Eijirou shot to his feet with a grin.

"He reminded me of that warning sign you see on emergency exits," Denki nodded.

Having waited out the chaos with Kyoka, Shion wasn't entirely sure what they were going on about. But everyone else seemed in favour of it, so she was happy enough to go along with the decision. Catching Kyoka's questioning look, the blonde shrugged and grinned helplessly.

Had she known then what she did a week later, Shion would have probably put up some resistance. At least.

Iida Tenya loved rules. Iida Tenya _breathed_ rules. Iida Tenya would marry rules and have twenty-billion bespectacled little abominations with rules, if he could. And more importantly, Iida Tenya believed that everyone else should share his devotion (or at least struggled to understand why someone wouldn't).

By Thursday, the unfortunate implications truly dawned on Shion. After Kyoka's admission, Shion had been making great efforts to really cement the burgeoning friendship. Which didn't much differ from her efforts to _win_ said friendship - apart from that horrible, stomach-churning doubt that Shion was actually annoying the ever-loving shit out of her was _mostly_ gone. Shion had been simultaneously chewing on Pocky and trying to probe Kyoka's plans for the weekend for any openings, when the packet was unceremoniously plucked from her fingers.

"Eh?" Shion blinked.

"Koyama-san," addressed a voice from behind.

Shion leaned backwards in her seat to see Iida towering over her with a disapproving expression. _Ah._

"It is prohibited to eat in the Homeroom, barring lunch times and at Aizawa-sensei's approval," Iida commanded, pushing his glasses upward with one finger. "Please refrain from doing so in the future!"

"But… my Pocky," Shion said with palatable remorse.

" _However,"_ Iida straightened and closed his eyes, one hand coming up to point a finger at the ceiling like a true bureaucrat. Shion glanced up to see what he was pointing at, until belatedly realising that it was just another one of Iida's weird gestures.

"...As this is your first offense, I am willing to return the contraband! On good faith, of course."

"Huh? It's Pocky, not contraband," she thought the grin made it obvious that she had been trying to joke around with him, but it had fallen flat when Iida took her seriously.

"No…contraband means 'goods that are prohibited'," attempting to retain his dignity, Iida coughed into his fist.

"Did you memorise that from a dictionary?" Kyoka muttered.

"Okay, got it!" Shion grinned and flashed a thumbs-up. "Thanks, Megane-kun!"

"M-Megane-kun?!" Iida spluttered.

On Friday, Shion was no closer to working out whether Kyoka was busy or not (she had a sneaking suspicion that the shorter girl was purposely messing with her, though she hadn't caught anything but a telling smirk so far). She'd been in high spirits, attempting to educate Mina on the finer points of heavy metal with Kyoka's careful contributions. While she didn't appear to be getting anywhere with Mina, the pink-skinned girl was open-minded enough to happily give it a try anyway. They had a few minutes before Aizawa-sensei rocked up and she had a receptive audience, Shion was in her element.

"I dunno, Shion-chan, it's all a little too angry for me…"

"Well, yeah, it _sounds_ that way, but they did some studies and heavy metal listeners are the most laid-back demographic," Shion urged.

"Ha, no way! I still think I prefer my music, though. What do you guys play?"

"What makes you think we play anything?" Kyoka said.

"C'mon, everyone who listens to rock music has wanted to be in a rock _band_ at some point. You have to play something," Mina laughed.

Shion blinked. _Wow, that was pretty insightful._

"Wait, wait, wait! Let me guess! Hmm, Shion-chan plays… drums?" Mina grinned.

"Holy shit, yeah! Are you a mind-reader or something?"

"Maybe~" Mina replied playfully before turning her attention to Kyoka.

"I'm not sure what you play, though, Kyoka-chan," Mina narrowed her eyes with thought. "You're kinda a mystery…"

"Bass mostly, but I play a little of everything," Kyoka shrugged, deadpan without an ounce of smugness.

Shion did a double-take. _Just when I thought Jirou-chan wouldn't get any cooler!_

"Do you play, Mina-chan?" Shion asked, whipping out a packet of Pocky.

"Nah, but I'm pretty good at singing. Oh, and I can dance too!" Mina gasped with delight as a thought occurred to her, "we should start a band!"

"Koyama-san!" an authoritative voice boomed.

Shion jumped in her seat. There was a definite increase of looming when Iida stood behind her the second time.

"What did I distinctly say about snacks in Homeroom!" Iida peered over his glasses at Shion like a disappointed mother.

"Er… not to?" she laughed nervously.

"Hm! I will be forced to confiscate them this time, I'm afraid."

He struck out his hand, palm up, and gestured with his fingers impatiently. "Hand them over, please."

"Aw, c'mon, Megane-kun, be cool," Shion whined.

"I am the Class President, Koyama-san, it is not my duty to 'be cool'. It my duty to uphold law and order for the safety of my fellow classmates," Iida huffed.

"But she wasn't hurting anyone, right?" Mina attempted.

"And it's not like she can stab anyone with a stick of Pocky," Kyoka added.

"That may be so, but the rules are the rules. Where would we be - where would _society_ be if we could just pick and choose what ones we wished to follow. As students of U.A. Academy it is our _duty_ to set a good example!"

With her snack at stake, Shion chose what she would later realise was probably not the wisest course of action. After all, she'd seen her parents' do it a thousand times before (which _should_ have been a telling sign that it would not go over well with Iida), and it had always worked for them so...

" _Relax_ , Megane-kun, I'm sure we can come an… 'understanding'," Shion flicked the Pocky packet open and pointedly slid a stick into Iida's blazer. It instantly fell to the floor with a small 'tink'. _Oh yeah, no pockets._

Now sweating slightly, Shion nodded from Iida to the fallen Pocky to Iida again. "Huh? Huh?"

Iida, however, was horrified. "Koyama-san… d-did you just try to _bribe_ me!?"

Shion was just about to ask if it had worked, when Kyoka sighed and clamped a hand over the blonde's mouth.

"Seriously, just ignore her, Iida-san," Kyoka said. "I'm pretty sure she has an undiagnosed medical problem."

"Ah, I see," Iida visibly collected himself.

"My apologies, Koyama-san. I did not know. I'll request a list of medical history from Aizawa-sensei right away," he'd had been pretty shocking before, but Shion's mouth literally fell open when he dipped into a neat bow.

"Hey, erm, Iida-kun, I think that was meant to be a joke…" Mina attempted, but the boy's mind had already switched onto the next order of business.

"If you will excuse me," he said politely, before marching off again.

The trio watched him go in confused silence. Down one packet of Pocky and jarred by the entire encounter, Shion slumped at her desk with a defeated sigh. Some of her peers _seriously_ needed to lighten up a bit. _Jeez, you're fifteen, not thirty. Don't take yourself so seriously._

"Um… I know he can be a little intense, but Iida-kun's a really great guy. He's got the best interests of the class at heart," Midoriya voiced, smiling after his friend.

Shion jumped a little, only now noticing the green-haired boy. It was an easy mistake to make, since Midoriya Izuku didn't exactly have the most conspicuous presence. Mina had wandered off to chat with Yuuga, and Momo had somehow stolen Kyoka's attention away in Shion's moment of distraction. _Damn you,_ _Momo-hime._

Shion could have kicked her herself when Midoriya gulped at the flash of irritation that puckered her expression. Clearly, he thought she was annoyed that he'd disturbed her. It was the first time they'd directly spoke to one another, and Shion had managed to look like a total ass without _actually_ saying anything. That had to be a new record.

Truthfully, Shion had been subconsciously avoiding Midoriya since her outburst during the Battle Trial. Not that she had an issue with him per say, just that every time she tried to speak with him, she had another waft of lingering embarrassment.

"Yeah, I know," and Shion did know. Even if she didn't want to admit it.

"Well, er, that's all I wanted to say," Midoriya smiled.

He did an awkward, little wave before spinning on his heel and stalking towards his seat, mumbling furiously under breath. Shion sighed. She would have been content ignoring Midoriya's existence until the cringe finally faded, _if_ Midoriya hadn't reminded her of some doe-eyed cartoon baby animal. Well, she might as well get it off her chest rather than let Midoriya keep beating himself up over some imaginary slight.

"Yo, Midoriya-kun, wait up!"

Bakugou glared suspiciously at Shion as she jogged past, but kept any comments to himself. Midoriya, on the other hand, had paused by his desk, expression hopeful and uncomfortably open.

"Look, all I wanted to say was…" Shion trailed off, drumming a hand on her thighs. "I just wanted to ask if you were okay, y'know? After the... thing. Where we were trialed. For battle."

"The… Battle Trial…" Midoriya echoed with confusion, before his face visibly lit with understanding. "Oh! You mean my match?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "So, you're okay then? You don't have to use a stair-lift, or eat soup through a sieve or anything?"

"Ahaha…no, I'm fine," Midoriya laughed nervously, looking at the floor and scratching the back of his head as if he'd let her down personally. "Don't worry about me, Recovery Girl fixed me up!"

Shion wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. She'd never got this far when mentally relaying how the conversation would go. Mainly because she'd expected Midoriya to tearfully to confess that his spine now looked like a tuba or something.

"Erm," Midoriya hesitated. "But Uraraka-san told me how you reacted, a-and, erm..."

Shion watched him flounder dubiously. Whatever came out of his mouth next probably wasn't going to be anything she wanted to hear. Midoriya didn't seem the type to laugh at anyone (more victim than bully to be completely honest), but Shion had hoped that the whole thing would have blown over by now. It wasn't like anyone had been bothered by her complaints at the time, anyway.

Midoriya took a deep breath and when he next spoke, his voice was steadier and stronger than Shion would have expected from someone so small.

"What I wanted to say was thank you for your concern, Koyama-san, but I'm a lot stronger than I look. I won't let you down, I promise!"

Shion laughed. He was so earnest she couldn't help it.

"Relax, Midoriya-kun, you haven't let anyone down. I was just being an idiot, it's kinda my thing," now Shion was the one laughing and rubbing at her neck self-consciously.

She was grateful that Aizawa-sensei chose that moment to slouch in, muttering for everyone to take their seats.

"Alright, Midoriya-kun, gotta go!"

Shion practically scrambled for her desk. She didn't get Midoriya, that was abundantly clear. Despite his Quirk, he seemed pretty fragile with his baby-face and general air of innocence. What the hell was he even doing in U.A? How was he smiling and waving off her concern after getting the shit kicked out of him?

In fact, what were _any_ of then doing here? It was the first time the thought had occurred to Shion, and she found herself glancing around at her classmates in a different light. A week ago, Shion would have just written them off as Hero-wannabes - still did, to a large degree. The _world_ was full of people like that, so that wasn't a new concept for Shion to get to grips with. But there was a difference between running around in a cape when you were a kid, and attending U.A. What made them think all this effort was worth it?

Shion knew her classmates now as something other than hypothetical silhouettes. She knew lessons at U.A. were a hell of a lot more difficult than the Hero circle-jerk she'd expected. She couldn't write off down-to-Earth Kyoka as some other kid infatuated with the celebrity image.

Maybe they hadn't had much choice in the matter like Shion. She could definitely imagine Momo and Todoroki having pushy, elitist parents, but the possibility of _all_ of them having their very own Koyama Hanakos to contend with was a little far-fetched. So what was it? Fame? Money? The ability to call yourself a Hero, or just the genuine desire to help people? Okay, the last one was pretty noble, but Shion couldn't imagine wanting to help someone enough that she'd independently sign up for all this. And there were other ways to help people that didn't involve gruelling training or whatever other future horrors were on the curriculum.

Shion just didn't get it. She wasn't sure she _wanted_ to get it. But it was the first time she'd been curious.

/-/-/

Shion never did manage to pry a straight answer out of Kyoka (an irritating role reversal of their first few days at U.A.). Their conversation on Friday, however, had managed to kickstart a sudden urge to test out her drumkit again, so Shion spent much of Saturday switching between her drumkit and her computer (dicking about on Youtube and browsing a few forums).

By 9pm, her stomach forced her downstairs in search of snacks. Rotating her wrists to ease out the kinks, Shion trudged downstairs, glancing momentarily at where her mother was seated on the sofa, flicking through a magazine. Her phone buzzed as she inspected the fridge, wondering if she could get away with sneaking one of Kiku's Grape Fantas. The blonde absentmindedly read her message without actually _reading_ it. Shoving it back into her pocket, she stared keenly into the fridge and blinked. Then she checked it again.

 **[Unknown:** meet me at bus stop u got 5 min **]**


	10. Shion Koyama vs A Seedy Diner

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

I've also had someone ask about pairings, and while there's nothing immediately on the horizon, I'd like to say that there will be romance in later chapters. I just wanted to build on Shion more first, and I'm hoping that any future pairings therefore seem more natural :)

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. A Seedy Diner**

 **.**

" **We need to have a little chat that includes,** _ **but**_ **is not limited to, which of his fucking legs I'm gonna break first."**

 **\- Hiroto Koyama**

 **.**

Violent men (Shion loved her big brother, but he _was_ a truly violent man) generally did not leave a lot of room for others. People tended to move out of Hiroto's way when he walked down the street, they shifted away from him at the bar or on the bus, no one rubbed elbows with Hiroto or told him to get out of their personal space (if Hiroto was there, then it was _his_ personal space now). Something silently raised the alert in that primal part of their brains that told them that her older brother had both the capacity and inclination for bloodshed.

He certainly filled the pokey, back alley diner he'd taken her to. The diner itself was positioned at a prime retail location, overlooking the bed of the river and twenty minutes' walk away from Fukuoka City Subway - an area already redolent with hotels and tourist-traps. And yet, except for the odd patron that seemed to be permanent fixtures of the bar, it was near empty. The longer Shion spent there, the more obvious it became why.

For one, the clientele were clearly not part of polite society – or _any_ approachable society, for that matter. A group of shaven-headed men sat huddled around a card game in one corner, all of an indiscriminate age and dressed in identical sunglasses and too big suits. Not particularly incriminating at first glance; until you noticed the sly glint of steel-capped shoes. In the booth nearest the door, a barely-legal schoolgirl was getting… amorous with man thrice her age. Shion could only glance at his hand fisted under the neat folds of her school skirt before immediately looking away, red-faced. No one else even bothered acknowledging them. The schoolgirl seemed willing, at least, but Shion wondered if that was any consolation.

There were three men at the bar, each one built like a brick shithouse and alternating between their drinks and the boxing match on TV. She had no idea if they were a group or had just arrived together, since none of them were speaking to one another but they seemed comfortable enough to sit on neighbouring stools. The last of the trio was both the oldest and the largest, massive shoulders hunched over his drink, and a map of scars intersecting the side of his buzzcut. Shion prayed that wasn't what Hiroto would look like in fifty years' time.

"Oi, brat, you hungry?"

Snapped out of her thoughts, she blinked at her brother. 'Brat' was something of unofficial nickname, said with varying degrees of fondness and irritation.

"Eh? Oh! Er, yeah, I guess… I haven't had dinner. T-thanks, Onii-san."

Hiroto just grunted, raising a hand to signal the staff. A toady bartender rushed over. The guy wasn't winning any beauty contests, badly balding (not helped by the shoddiest come-over Shion had ever seen) and expression limp and simpering.

"Ah! Muscular-sama, so good to see you again!" he wheedled.

Hiroto didn't bother even looking at him, "whatever. What have you got to eat?"

"To… eat?" he began to sweat when Hiroto finally slid his eye over to him with barely restrained impatience. "Ahaha! Yes, w-we can cook something up in the kitchens for you, of course! Would, er, Omurice do?"

Hiroto shifted his gaze to Shion.

It took her a moment to catch onto what he was getting at, "Oh! Yeah, yeah, that sounds great! Thanks again, Onii-san."

"Don't mention it," he said to Shion, then directed the next part to the bartender/come waiter. "She'll have that, and a Coke."

"Excellent, excellent!" the bartender demurred. "Many thanks, Muscular-sama, we always look forward to your-"

"Alright, give it a rest!"

The bartender almost had a heart-attack when Hiroto snapped, cowering into a bow and _continuing_ to bow even as he shuffled backwards. It would have been comical - _if_ the guy hadn't been so visibly terrified. He scurried back with their drinks as quickly as his little legs would take him, this time trying to make himself as small a target as possible, before hurrying away again.

The fact that he took out his public humiliation by roughly kicking aside an old speckled Pointer resting by the bar, made Shion feel a little better about how her brother had treated the guy. _Not that I would said anything, anyway. Yeah, it's alright standing up for some little old lady on the train, but openly challenging Onii-san is another thing_ entirely.

"Fucking hate the staff here," Hiroto grumbled within earshot, reaching into his bomber jacket for his cigars and flip lighter.

A wave of bitter-root cigar smoke plumed out from between his teeth and nostrils, adding to the tacky smell of spilt alcohol and years-old air fresheners. Hiroto had chosen the booth in the farthest corner, his eye-patched side against the wall. It gave him a pretty good view of who was coming and going, but left Shion's back uncomfortably open. And she kind of got the impression that this wasn't the sort of place you'd want to leave yourself open in.

Even if the customers hadn't been a blatant tip-off, there was something about the diner that felt grotty. Not that it was particularly unclean – even though she hadn't yet seen a table, chair or booth seat that _didn't_ have some sort of battle wound. The wooden panelling on the flooring and reaching halfway up the walls was an inoffensive honey-colour, the walls themselves an equally bland cream that had browned here and there (most likely due to nicotine damage). At some point, there'd been a half-assed attempt to lighten up the place with framed photography shots of Fukuoka's favourite tourist destinations but even those fell flat. Spherical lights hung intrusively over the tables, further amplifying the claustrophobic atmosphere. No, there wasn't anything _obviously_ wrong with the place, but Shion still couldn't escape the feeling that she'd probably need a tetanus shot if she ever used their bathroom.

Although she was under no illusions that this was probably the type of place Hiroto had to frequent for 'work', it _wasn't_ the type of place he took _her_ to. Usually they got a takeaway, and ate in his car or whatever housing he was renting at the time. Sometimes his 'work friends' would show up, but they were always polite enough with her (not that they had much choice with Hiroto looming over them). For all that her older brother clearly revelled in the lifestyle, he'd been careful to keep Shion separate from it… well, as careful as Hiroto _could_ be.

The choice of establishment wasn't the only thing niggling annoyingly at the back of Shion's head. The fact that Hiroto had been subtle enough to decide upon a meeting place, rather than crashing through the door, was uncharacteristic. Subtlety or prior planning were _not_ her older brother's strong suits. _Unless, he didn't want Okaa-san and Tou-san to know…_

Shion frowned to herself, trying to shake off the errant shiver of unease. She was probably just being stupid. And she was _definitely_ being an ungrateful asshole. Hiroto had kept his promise to see her, even taken her out for a meal, and how did she repay him, huh? With _suspicion_. He may have been temperamental and intimidating and a little self-centred sometimes, but he'd never lied to her – mostly because he was completely unapologetic about his actions, _but still!_

Besides, if - _if-_ something were to happen, he'd protect her. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. And now, she'd been quiet for way too long, and Hiroto had the uncanny ability of reading her like a book so he'd know that she was thinking about something-

"S-so, how've you been, Onii-san?" Shion blurted, trying desperately to fill the breach before he picked up on her discomfort.

"Can't complain," Hiroto shrugged, but there was a wide, shark-like grin that told her he'd been enjoying himself recently.

She didn't see any new injuries, at least.

The first time Hiroto had turned up with his eyepatch, no explanation and a shorter tolerance for questions than usual, Shion had spent most of the visit watching him anxiously from across the room. At the time, the visual impairment had knocked his balance totally askew, but he wouldn't accept any help and Shion hadn't known how to even _look_ at him (apparently, _any_ way she'd looked at him had been off) without inciting his ire. It had been one of the tensest hours of her life, and it was strange to think back then that years later Hiroto would flaunt his eyepatch like a badge of honour.

Still… she far preferred it when he wasn't sporting any visual reminders of how dangerous his work was.

They lapsed into silence again. She'd forgotten how hard it was to hold Hiroto's attention, and how badly she always felt the need to do so. Shion drummed at her thighs, stomach knotted as she mentally scrambled through potential topics. Music? Maybe, but Hiroto had seemed to have well and truly outgrown his Heavy Metal phase and Shion didn't know the first thing about the club music he was into now. Their Quirk? Nah, she'd only embarrass herself with how badly she utilised it. Family? Shion almost snorted. That was probably the _last_ thing Hiroto wanted to talk about. There was no way to predict how he'd react to her enrollment in U.A. (though if Shion had to guess, she'd put her money on ' _very_ badly'), but he hadn't asked so she felt safer not telling.

Trying desperately to come up with a topic that wouldn't either set him off or send him to sleep, Shion blurted out the first thing that might capture his interest. " _So…_ you told Tou-san you did a big job, right?"

Hiroto snorted dismissively, "you don't want to know about that."

He was right. She didn't. But she felt like she was losing ground fast, and she was scrambling for any topic to save them from plunging into the silence again.

When Hiroto laughed – that deep, barking laughter that always seemed to take on a life of its own – Shion jumped, "bet the old man blew his fucking top!"

"Yeah… he was pretty mad, y'know," Shion's laughter was far shakier.

Hiroto's stopped laughing, but his grin still bordered on predatory, "does he still bang on about 'the good old days'?"

"Sometimes…" she shrugged. This topic was making her _extremely_ uncomfortable. Awkward silence might have actually been easier. _It never used to be this hard._

"Fucking sad-sack. Y'know half the shit he boasts about isn't true, right? It's pathetic how hard he tries to be a big man," Hiroto took another puff of his cigar. "Almost as sad as watching parade around like a fucking teenager."

" _I guess."_

"You guess?" Hiroto raised an eyebrow.

 _Shit._ Shion felt the mood shift abruptly like a tectonic plate beneath her feet.

"W-well, yeah… they're not that bad, y'know. I-I mean-"

"They're not _that bad?_ The old man's practically retarded and _she's_ a washed-up old skank, and _neither_ of 'em could pull off a _proper_ job if their worthless, fucking lives depended on it - I'm telling you Shion, around here they're jokes!"

Hiroto laughed without humour, "c'mon, are you seriously gonna sit there and tell me that they're _good parents_! The only thing they've ever gave a shit about is themselves."

Shion thought back to the photos she'd shown Kiku - thought of her father and older brother building sandcastles on the beach. _It never used to be this hard._

"What, you think the sun still shines out their asses?" Hiroto's voice had taken on a mocking tilt - if she hadn't already thought she was an idiot for provoking him, she _definitely_ did when he spoke to her like that. "Or are you still trying to keep everyone happy, huh?"

The only thing it felt safe to look at was nowhere, but since she couldn't crawl out her body and disappear, Shion settled for staring at the table top. She wasn't sure of what she was more ashamed of: her futility to defend her parents in the face of Hiroto's bitterness, or how weak she must have seemed to him then.

And besides, he _did_ kind of have a point. Not about the successful criminal thing, but the fact that their parents were willing to endanger their children just so they could afford the latest fashion or bathroom upgrades, or just out of sheer boredom sometimes. Hanako and Hiroki would never settle down, it just wasn't in their DNA, and there wasn't much any of them could do about it. As the oldest, Hiroto had been the one to suffer for it the most so she understood where he was coming from, but well... they weren't _bad_ parents, either.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, brat," he grunted, knocking against her shin with his boot. It wasn't hard, the impact only intended to jolt her into co-operation before she yielded completely.

"…No," Shion eventually breathed, the word felt like a rock on her tongue.

Under her brother's heavy scrutiny, there was nowhere to hide. Hiroto sighed heavily, crushing his cigar out with resigned frustration.

"You need to cut that shit out, Shion. You can't make everyone happy."

It was almost gentle, or as gentle as Hiroto was capable of. Shion chanced a glance up at him, but he was checking his phone. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or not. Although, considering that she felt about five-years-old again, it was probably the former.

Privately, she disagreed with him, of course. It _wasn't_ about trying to make everyone happy. It was about trying to make _herself_ happy, because she was happier when everyone wasn't at each other's throats with _her_ in the middle. _Or getting in fist-fights about pointless shit no one cared about, or ruining the mood because they were all too busy trying to prove who was top-dog. Y'know, just the general, irritating shit that made it awkward for everyone else in the room, and I couldn't even get pissed about because as soon as I do lose my cool everyone thinks I'm gonna terrorise a village!_

Not everyone in the Koyama household could be Hiroto or Kiku or their parents, stubborn and willing to argue to the death to get their own way. _She_ couldn't point out her parents' mistakes to them and withstand the expected retaliation, or live without the support and comfort of her family. She was abundantly aware that she was the weakest link in the Koyama chain, and had adapted accordingly.

Shit, and now she was making it even _more_ obvious by feeling sorry for herself in front of Hiroto (who had _no_ time for losers, or cry-babies).

"I-I don't try to make _everyone_ happy, y'know. Some of my classmates are real grade A assholes," Shion tried to cover with a forced grin.

For once, luck seemed to be on her side and Hiroto snorted a laugh.

"That so?"

"Oh, yeah," Shion grinned and nodded, finally feeling like she was on more stable ground for the first time since they'd stepped foot in the diner. "Wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire, y'know."

"Yeah? You're a _real_ menace to society now, huh Shion?"

"I _single-handedly_ took out a rival school gang just yesterday… I mean it was a nursery school but that still counts!" Shion flashed him a thumbs-up.

She almost stuttered with happiness when he laughed, and reached out a huge hand to pat her head.

"You're such a weird brat."

It was moments like this that made all the tense silences and angry outbursts worth it. Hiroto's attention was simultaneously the most wonderful and intimidating thing in the world. When she messed up in front of him, she just wanted to curl into a ball and die before she did anything else stupid, but when he _praised_ her…

Well, if the wide grin and bright eyes weren't an indication of her mood, the shining feeling in her chest sure was.

Just when Hiroto's mood had seemed to level-out completely, the bartender arrived with Shion's Omurice. In-between listening to Hiroto recount how he'd put some cocky new guy in place on a recent job; Shion ate her meal so quickly, she barely tasted it. When talking about themselves her family (bar Kiku due to both impracticality and an innate stoicism) required very little input from the listener. Which was fortunate because Shion wouldn't have been capable of articulating much when her mouth was packed to bursting with ketchup-coated omelette.

Seeing that there were no napkins available and uncomfortable with the idea of calling the bartender over and watching him take another verbal beating, Shion wiped her mouth with the checkered scarf around her neck.

"Holy shit, is that you, Muscular?"

Shion's head shot up mid-wipe. The smack of flip-flops proceeded a man in his late thirties, sporting wilting slicked back hair, cargo shorts and baggy sweatshirt jumper. As he stopped beside their table, the stranger grinned with an easiness that would have been charming if it hadn't been tinged with desperation. He seemed like the type of friend you didn't lend money to. Shion found herself glancing from her older brother to the nose ring protruding from the stranger's left nostril.

"Saru, nice timing!" Hiroto grinned, easing back into his chair like a king humouring a subject. "I was just talking about that little punk we had on the Kyoto job."

Saru frowned for a moment before laughing, "fuck yes! I don't think I've ever seen a kid shit himself so quickly! I heard he's quit the game for good, right?"

"Hell if I know," Hiroto shrugged, still looking pleased with himself. "Don't particularly care. Unsurprising that the kid couldn't hack it."

"Right, right," Saru sounded absently, before finally noticing that Hiroto wasn't sitting alone.

Shion froze when the man's green eyes slid her way. At fifteen, most of her older brother's associates dismissed her almost immediately. A few though, sent her looks that made her feel deeply, _deeply_ unclean. Saru, evidently, belonged to the latter category.

"Hm, didn't think you were into schoolgirls, Muscular," he smirked.

Shion was glad she'd thought to grab an oversized hoodie on the way out. But shorts, netted tights and chunky, military boots weren't ideal for blocking his leering. Not that there was much she _could_ do to make him stop. She couldn't do anything to stop whatever sicko fantasy that was clearly playing out in Saru's brain.

Saru tilted his head, admiring what little he could while she was still seated, and Shion resisted the temptation to crawl up inside her hoodie. "Man, with an ass like that, I might be tempted myself!"

Hiroto laughed, and the fact that Saru didn't immediately run screaming just proved that he wasn't as well acquainted with her brother as he clearly thought he was. Because that was not Hiroto's 'I'm amused by your joke' laugh, that was Hiroto's 'I'm amused by the fact I'm about to hospitalise you' laugh.

"HA! Is that right?" Shion flinched when he punctuated his question by slapping one huge hand down on the table.

Glancing down at the hand apprehensively, Saru was finally beginning to realise that he was the punchline to a rather nasty joke. _Too late._

In an abrupt display of his inhuman speed, Hiroto leaned across the table. Eyes never leaving his prey, Hiroto addressed to Shion, "why don't you head to the bathroom, yeah? Me and Saru need to have a little chat that includes, _but_ is not limited to, which of his fucking legs I'm gonna break first."

"What!" Saru squawked, taking a panicked instinctive step backwards. "H-hang on a minute! Look, man, I didn't know you were serious about her! You _know_ I'm not like that! S-so, c'mon man, _please_!"

"Take your time," ignoring the other man's pleas, he patted Shion's head. But, if anything, Hiroto's grin widened at Saru's obvious fear like a shark scenting blood.

"O-okay, Onii-san."

Shion practically bolted towards the bathrooms. She'd learnt over time that she liked the _idea_ of her older brother defending her honour, and _not_ the reality. Hiroto had no self-restraint. At the moment, the only thing she could hear was hushed, angry whispers. Hopefully it stayed that way.

Shion gave the men still lurking at the bar a wide-berth, tugging at the sleeves of her hoodie and desperately avoiding eye-contact as she scampered past. She _did_ pause to pat the Pointer still lounging about near the bar, the dog barely moved but did 'whuff' at her gently. When it came to the toilets, the shoddy paper sign, tacked on with one strip of peeling cellotape and sheer determination, did not reassure the blonde. Nor did the neglected mop and steel bucket propped up opposite. _Shit, I hope the toilets don't look like a nuclear testing site._

Taking a deep, bracing breath, Shion pushed the door open – and immediately froze.

 _Shit._

 _Oh shit._

It wasn't the state of the bathroom that had Shion caught suspended between two opposing instincts, it was _what_ was in it. Or _whom,_ to be more accurate.

An Akita Inu filled the doorway – a breed that Shion hadn't previously thought very threatening, but she supposed all dogs were threatening when they were the size of Hiroto and snarling menacingly at you. This was not an oddly specific infestation of giant mutant dogs. This was an _invasion_ of giant mutant _Hero_ dogs – illustrated by the simple black mask and an orange bandana tied about his ruff.

Shion gawped dumbly at him, still struggling to equate why there was a massive masked dog in the toilet. The Akita spread his forelegs, ears flat against his neck and his snarling head lowered towards the floor. Shion took an unconscious step backwards.

"What the fu-"

"Alright, everyone get down on the floor!"

The command came from the schoolgirl. No longer attached at the face to the businessman, the girl shucked on a large cape complete with dog ears and the same eye-mask as her fluffy accomplice. Smart, really, when she thought about it. No one in the bar would have given the girl's face a second glance – either from embarrassment at such an open display of affection, or because they were too busy looking at her other… features – and her position at the booth gave her a good view of her surroundings. _Shion_ certainly hadn't noticed a Hero sitting in their midst.

More surprisingly, Shion recognised her face from dog food commercials. Going by the simple moniker of 'Fuse (and her Canine Warriors)', the girl hadn't managed anything more impressive than bagging the odd mugger, or doing safety awareness seminars at local schools. Definitely _not_ the type of person that had a chance going toe to toe with Koyama Hiroto.

Shion was still struggling to process what the actual hell was going on, when Fuse raised a whistle to her lips and blew soundlessly. The businessman stumbled over a nearby stool as two more hulking dogs shouldered their way into the bar, this time a battle-scarred Tosa-Ken and a striped Kai-Ken dressed in matching masks and bandanas. Nobody moved. Nobody breathed. Shion's eyes instinctively darted towards her older brother for some kind of direction or protection, but he was watching the Hero and her canine companions with an ill-boding grin.

 _Shit! This is not okay. This is not okay! Whatever happens next, I do_ not _want to be caught up in this._

"I've been trailing you since you arrived in Fukuoka, Muscular," Fuse announced grimly. "After the shit you pulled in Osaka… you should've stayed low."

 _The shit he pulled in Osaka? What the hell was she talking about?_ Shion's brow furrowed. Then she remembered: the big job Hiroto had been bragging about. A flush of betrayed indignation shot through Shion. Of all the places in Japan, why would he come to their _home_ , endanger their family, even _meet_ up with her, if he hadn't made a cursory effort to throw off whatever heat was following him. Was he hoping to lay low here at their expense? Maybe coerce Shion to stash something in their parents' hideout? Or did he just not _care_ who he hurt, as long as he was doing what he wanted to do?

No, no way. Hiroto was crass and inconsiderate, but he cared about them – Shion was _sure_ of it! Maybe he'd bitten off more than he could chew, and he didn't know how to ask for help. It wouldn't have been the first time her older brother had struggled to put his pride aside for the benefit of his wellbeing. Whatever the reason, it still didn't change the fact that both of them were potentially in some very deep shit unless they resolved the issue now.

"I'm guessing you're a newbie, right?" Hiroto chuckled.

Fuse shifted nervously, as Hiroto leisurely pulled himself to his full imposing height.

"Yeah, I could smell it on you the second you showed up," Hiroto grinned, clearly enjoying how uncomfortable he was making her. "Hoping to make a name for yourself by catching some big bad guy, huh?"

"Sit down, I'm warning you!" the girl ordered, attempting to reassert some control. An unsuccessful attempt considering the shaking in her voice and legs, though the ominous growl from the three over-sized hounds definitely kept everyone _bar_ Hiroto frozen in place.

Hiroto _really_ laughed at that.

" _You're_ warning me! _You!_ Some shitty little brat, who's got way in over her head! No, I don't think so, sweetheart, turn around and walk out before I make every single one of your little sidekicks here _**bleed."**_

The girl gulped, glancing anxiously at her dogs. Shion didn't blame her. Hiroto was not _warning_ Fuse about what would happen should she not follow her demands, he was _promising_ her what was going to happen regardless - the girl's compliance was irrelevant. Honestly, Shion was struggling to think of a point in time she'd been more terrified of her brother, it was like trying to stare down a bull just before it charged.

"So," Hiroto licked his lips, eyeing the girl like a piece of meat, "you still wanna play?"

As soon as the word left his mouth, the Tosa-Ken leapt, hurtling towards Hiroto with its teeth bared in defence of its master. The way Hiroto reacted was a lesson in what Shion's Quirk was actually capable of. He was armoured by Augmented Muscles within seconds – _less_ than seconds. Shion hadn't known they _could_ be activated that quickly, the hind-legs of the Tosa-Ken hadn't even left the floor before her brother was draped from head to waist in a thick, coiling shell.

The hardwood floor reverberated as Hiroto darted forward with eye-blistering speed, grabbed the Tosa-Ken by the scruff of its neck, pivoted and _flung_ the dog out through the window to a cacophony of broken glass, screeching tires and car horns.

 _What… what the hell is happening!_ Is _this really happening? How did it all just suddenly go to shit?_

In space of ten minutes, Omurice had devolved into a public brawl. Hiroto was laughing, shoving tables aside in his haste to get to the dog laying in a stupor, boots crunching over broken glass. Plates and glasses crashed to the floor, chairs grunting as they were shoved back. People were shoving, darting for the door, screaming. Fuse was shouting at her dogs, the dogs were barking in turn to another three more dogs sprinting to the scene. A gust of sea-chilled wind was sweeping in from the gaping hole in the window, the commentators on the TV backlining the commotion with static chatter.

Shion just ran.

* * *

 **Fuse (and the Canine Warriors)**

 **Name:** Mari Inui (Long Distance + Dog)

 **Hero Alias:** Fuse

 **Age:** 24

 **Quirk:** Animal Upgrade

(Capable of increasing the size, strength and speed of mammals (excluding humans), but she must have a close bond with them and there is a limit on the number of animals she can use it on. She's found dogs to be the easiest to work with in terms of both training and developing a bond.)

 **Eye Colour:** Gold

 **Hair Colour:** Brown


	11. Shion Koyama vs Public Transport

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

Pre-warning that there's some animal abuse in this chapter, I've tried to make it less graphic but they are fighting giant dogs.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Public Transport**

 **.**

 **"Shit!"**

 **\- Shion Koyama**

 **.**

 _I am the biggest idiot in Japan. Probably the world._ She _knew_ what her older brother was like. Something _always_ kicked off when Hiroto was involved; it wasn't a question of 'what' but a question of 'when.' Big brother or not, she should have known better than meeting a wanted criminal in a public place. She should have damn well listened to her gut when it was telling her that something was wrong.

And now she was paying the price for it.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

Shion was no Koyama Hiroto who could activate his Quirk within the space of seconds. Under normal circumstances, she'd have enough forewarning to build at least a few cautionary layers of Augmented Muscles before any strenuous or dangerous activities. This was not 'normal circumstances'. 'Normal circumstances' had been pretty much clubbed over the head at this point. Heart stuttering as if it were several leagues ahead of her, Shion scrambled towards the door, cursing and pleading with the first shy strips of Augmented Muscle sluggishly coiling around her leg. The Akita Inu jerked towards her at the sudden movement, barking once in warning.

 _Come on, come on, shit, shit,_ shit! Off-balance, and so badly stressed she was half-convinced she was going to go spontaneously bald right there in the middle of the Diner, Shion crashed into a booth. For some deeply, _deeply_ aggravating reason, the Augmented Muscle on her left leg was forming quicker than her right leg. She couldn't run like that – she could barely _walk_ like that! And there was no rushing the process, not unless she wanted to risk developing it wrong, and having her leg crushed or the Augmented Muscle unravel as a result.

No Hiroto coming to the rescue, and no time to call her parents - Shion was on her own. Her eyes cast about the rapidly emptying Diner desperately. They fell almost immediately on the Akita Inu, steadily navigating the overturned tables as he stalked towards her; drawing closer and closer and closer… _No! Shit, come on, please!_

There was nothing for it. As far as options went: she could either wing it and hope her Quirk caught up, or get arrested and/or possibly mauled. With an aborted noise of frustration, Shion pushed off the booth and waded towards the door. With every step she felt like a kid again, running across the landing towards her room after a night-time visit to the bathroom, convinced that there was a monster hot on her heels. Except _this_ time, the threat was not the overactive imagination of a child. _This_ time, she couldn't just pull the blanket over her head and wish the monster away.

 _Finally,_ the Augmented Muscle on her right leg locked into place and she made for the door in one desperate lunge, feeling as if the Akita Inu's jaws would come closing around her heel at any moment. She practically tore the door off its hinges in her haste to escape into the night air.

A gust of cold, sea-tinged wind stole up and through Shion, robbing her not only of warmth but the all that burgeoning, panicked momentum. What now? She could just make out a writhing, struggling mass of fur and red, raw muscle: Hiroto. He wouldn't thank her for her help, and Shion seriously doubted there was much she _could_ do, anyway. No, she was scared – beyond scared! It didn't matter how powerful her Quirk was, when her legs were trembling like crazy from a potent combination of adrenaline and fear. This wasn't the U.A. battle trial, this was real life with real life consequences. She'd have to run, but where to?

The street was already beginning to crowd, people recording on their phones and peering out of windows from the surrounding multi-storey buildings. Uniformed policemen formed a human shield between them and ensuing brawl, attempting to urge the spectators elsewhere. Sirens were echoing from somewhere. The police would set up stockades to keep the battle contained, call for Hero back-up, and effectively screw Shion over when it came to getting out of there undetected. They hadn't noticed her yet (too preoccupied with Hiroto), but it was only a matter of time.

There was only one way out.

Shion's eyes skittered towards the railing then out, across the river speckled with refracted light from the street lamps and hotel signs. A body of dark, unpredictable water, with a grand hotel beckoning from the other side like a lighthouse in a storm. It looked far too wide to leap in a single stride. What if she ended up stranded? Then again, what choice did she have? Yanking up her scarf and hood to cover what she could of her face, Shion braced into sprinting position and hesitated…

She couldn't do this. She shouldn't _have_ to do this. How was this fair, how was _any_ of this fair! She'd only wanted to catch up with her older brother, and it had all suddenly and violently turned to shit!Maybe she should just turn herself in? She hadn't actually done anything wrong after all, but there was no guarantee that would make a difference. They'd get her for something else, link her to her parents, blame them, take Kiku into Child Services, slap her with a Criminal Record - convict her with _something,_ whether it be associating with a known criminal or using her Quirk in public. The police weren't there to protect people like the Koyamas.

The Diner door opened behind her, and Shion had the decision made for her. With a bitten curse, the blonde shot forward to a flurry of camera flashes and startled exclamations. Shion didn't look. She didn't register _anything_ beyond her boots smacking against the tarmac road, the night air surging underneath her hoodie, and her eyes locked on the rapidly approaching railing.

"Jin, Shin after her! Don't let her get away!"

Her hand caught night-chilled steel, one foot up then the other. Augmented Muscles bunched tight in her legs, a thick knot of potential energy just begging to be released. _Come on, come on,_ and _push!_

 **CRACK**

The steel gave way as Shion launched herself from the top rung, like a ball bearing fired from a slingshot. Through watery eyes, she watched the dark water blur under her in streaks of reflected light. For one horrible, exhilarating moment, Shion was suspended, the cold air whistling through her ears and her body vibrating the frantic tempo of her heartbeat. It felt less than seconds before the earth came grasping up towards her again.

 _Shit, I'm not gonna make it!_

There'd been no elegance in her mad flight, just her arms wind-milling wildly. Her feet hit the incline of the bank first with a resounding splash, soaking her (now ripped, thanks to her Quirk) shorts and sending a plume of water erupting around her. Shion stumbled forward, smacked her chin on the concrete and clacked her teeth against one another. There was no time to register the pain, as seconds later the first of the dogs in pursuit hit the water just behind her. Shion scrambled forward, boots scraping against the wet concrete as she fought to find purchase on the steep incline. After that damn jump, she was _not_ about to let herself get caught immediately after! The least she could do was _attempt_ an escape.

Her hand met the railing just as the second dog reached the other side of the river, both water-logged canines shaking themselves off and zeroing in on their quarry. Shion heaved herself over the railing, and tumbled less than gracefully on to the path before struggling to put her feet under her again. Fear was making her sloppy, but it was also keeping her so keyed up that she seriously doubted she would have been capable of taking a breather even if she desperately wanted to.

At least the Augmented Muscles on her legs had held throughout her desperate jump, a fact that made shooting off down the street a _great deal_ easier. Going into the hotel was just asking to be trapped. But if she carried on running up the road, the police could easily still spot her from the other side of the bank. She couldn't just keep running forever, not with two mutant dogs hot on her heels. If she could just get away from the Diner fast enough and shake off her canine pursuers, there was a chance she could make it home before the police completely mobilised, then maybe (just maybe) she had a chance at making it through this unscathed. _Okay, shit, what do I do? What do I do?_

If she hadn't believed in divine intervention before, she _definitely_ did when she spotted the little garbage alley alongside the hotel. It would at least get her off the street (or more importantly, the police surrounding the Diner just on the other side of the river), and she could duck through to reach a less visible path. From there? Whatever. Panic had eaten away at her mental capacity to think further ahead than the next five minutes.

Shion darted for the alleyway, sprinting head-long past the garbage cans and towards the looming shape of the dumpster at the back of the alley. Through the gap between the hotel and the neighbouring block of flats, Shion could just make out a chain-link fence, with high rise buildings and traffic beyond that. So that meant it _did_ lead into the rest of the city! There was a chance she'd get spotted by a cruising patrol car, but it'd be a hell of a lot easier to blend in with the crowds and offered far more hiding spaces to shake her surveillance loose.

An elderly man in flip-flops and a stained vest, enjoying a smoke on his balcony, yelped at the sight of a hooded girl pursued by two giant dogs – probably the _last_ thing he'd expected to see on a Saturday night. Shion barely noticed him, gaze locked on the closed lid of the dumpster. _Onto that, over the fence, come on, come on, you can do it!_ The dumpster gave a protesting shudder as Shion thumped onto it, one hand reached up to snag the top of the fence before she _vaulted_ herself over.

Her shoulder hit the pavement on the other side first and heavily, jarring her for a moment, the awkward angle knocking the air clean out of her lungs. _Ow._ Not that she'd have much time to take stock; the two dogs leapt gracefully over the chainlink fence, then spun in a small, tight circle so they could face her again.

Shion scrambled to get her feet under her again before taking off running, the Canine Warriors hot on her heels. Unlike the deserted street outside the hotel, however, there wasn't much room to _really_ gun it anymore. Cars blocked the road. People blocked the path.

"Move! Move!" Shion screamed, waving her arms at startled civilians.

Whether it was the intimidation factor granted by her Quirk or pure desperation, she somehow managed to cut through the crowds like a spear through water. A mother grabbed her toddler and reeled him close with a gasp. A group of teenage boys went careening into one another, before swearing at her disappearing back in earnest. At one point, Shion was almost thrown off-stride when she clipped her shoulder on one of the heavy-headed trees lining the path. She sprinted past fancy shop-fronts, office buildings and LED advertisements winking from the rooftops, past clouds of cigarette smoke or bubbles of popular music blaring from restaurants and bars. Fukuoka was a disjointed orchestra of bright lights, noises and smells; both indifferent and immersed in Shion's own personal struggle. She was rapidly running out of breath and her pursuers seemed to be drawing closer with every footfall. In not so many words: she was fucked. So unbelievably, irrevocably _fucked._

Up ahead a bus stop came into view, the bus just shuddering to a stop in front of it as passengers loaded on. Shion saw her chance and, without a second thought, threw herself onto the bus before the doors could close. An elderly woman on the front row screamed – _actually screamed –_ and several more passengers half-rose from their seats in panic as a wide-eyed Shion scrambled abroad. The driver's face paled behind the plexiglass screen, clearly anticipating some sort of hostage situation. Truth be told, Shion wasn't entirely sure she _wouldn't_ hold every last person on that bus hostage if it meant her getting home unharassed.

"Drive, drive right now! Please!" Shion pleaded, head snapping round to track the progress of the dogs.

 _Oh shit, oh no._ The Akita Inu was seconds away from the door. The bus driver was still staring at her blankly with shock – _nobody_ was doing anything!

"Come on! _Please!"_

Nothing! With a keening noise of desperation, Shion took off towards the back of the bus. It was like disturbing a hive, everyone surged over seats or pressed themselves against windows with muffled gasps of panic as they tried to move out of her way. This was probably what it was like to be Hiroto. How her older brother actually _enjoyed_ people recoiling from him in fear was a mystery though, because it only made Shion's already shrivelled stomach shrink further.

She glanced over her shoulder, and swore she felt her entire body stutter. The Akita Inu was _on_ the bus. The bus doors hissed closed and Shion wanted to scream! _Bit bloody late for that now, asshole!_ She had to get out, she had to get away… but she couldn't reach the bus doors without confronting the huge creature currently squeezing its way down the bus aisle.

If Shion had been in her right state of mind (instead of a vaguely human-shaped ball of desperate panic), the thought probably wouldn't have even occurred to her. Being that she was all out of options and close to crying hysterically like a girl out of one of her horror movies, Shion did the only thing she could think to do – she lifted her leg and started smashing at the back window of the bus. The other passengers really _did_ start freaking out then, screaming and clambering over one another in one huge concentrated wave of human distress. The Akita Inu barely paused, before taking off down the bus with a reverberating growl. Wrong move, as this only spooked the passengers further and the dog was soon buffeted back, to Shion's immense relief.

 _Come on, come on, come on._ The plastic window didn't so much as shatter as concave outwards, a lighter indent of Shion's foot dented just above the joining at the bottom. After a final bracing _push_ , she managed to strain the bottom free with a dull reverberating twang. The rhythmic thump of heavy paws made Shion glance up, eyes locking on the sight of the Akita Inu wriggling loose from the press of human bodies.

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"

Shion rushed to jimmy through the crack. The Akita Inu was charging towards her. Her lower half felt the cold metal and night air as Shion's legs dangled from the back of the bus. _Just a little more! Come on, please!_ A scream building in her throat, Shion gave one last desperate push and slipped through. She smacked against the road to the sound of cars breaking and honking horns, and just…sat there for a moment, hunched over and desperately trying to catch her breath. Everything hurt. Screw the traffic! Screw over-sized dogs! Screw this entire shitty night! Shion had officially had enough! She just wanted to go home!

But that evidently was _not_ an option, as the second of the dogs – a boxer with elongated, gangly legs – came swerving around the side of the bus, snapping, white teeth glinting in the headlights of the nearby cars. _Just leave me alone!_ With a muffled curse, Shion pushed herself to her feet and started running directly between the lines of traffic. _I want to go home, I want to go-_

Home. Shion hadn't been consciously aware of the direction she'd been running in until then, belatedly realising that she'd been on the cusp of making a _very_ big mistake. No way could she lead the bastards back to her parents and Kiku. But… what else could she do? She was so far out of her depth, it wasn't even funny anymore! With one of the dogs still on the bus, at least she only had to contend with one of them – but even that was one _more_ than Shion wanted. Well, even if it hadn't been her original plan, the bus gambit had worked. Though, she seriously doubted she could find another bus in time...the subway, of course! If she deactivated her Quirk near the station, she'd be indistinguishable from the other commuters then she could get a train or try to cut the dog off at one of the gates or something. She'd have to head back towards the river (and therefore the Diner) again, but speed at least had been on her side so far, and she hadn't run into any police.

Breath burning like acid in her lungs, Shion swerved towards a narrow street occupied by bars. The Boxer's teeth grazed her hoodie. Shion shrieked, and bullied her aching body into another burst of speed. Here the street was narrower, more intimate, hazed with smoke from cigarettes and open grills, dimly lit from the soft glow of lanterns hanging from the eaves. A collection of windchimes hushed against one another from an window, adding a further sense of vague nostalgia to the faded signs and rickety awnings.

It was like stepping into another world. There was no people rushing or screaming, no abrupt shifts between the background noises of murmured laughter, pans hissing and crooning Enka music. It felt sheltered here, forgotten, a place tucked in the back of Fukuoka City the same way someone would tuck a photograph in the back of a drawer. People craned round on seats to watch the commotion, but otherwise didn't move. Shion wished she could join them. The urge to just collapse, panting on the pavement, and let the sharp smell of alcohol and the pulsing flash of red-lit signs soak her in was so strong she could almost _taste_ it. But she _had_ to keep running. _Just make it to the subway, just a little further…_

She burst out onto main street again, almost crying with relief at the sight of the entrance to the subway crowded with people. The earlier burst of desperate speed had put some distance between Shion and the dog, enough that she could stagger down the steps and into the coolness of the underground entrance. From the sound of growling and startled gasps, the Boxer was still padding about outside. _Probably missed me in the crowd._ Though did it matter? He made no move to come down, and that was all Shion cared about.

Lungs feeling as if they'd shrivelled to the size of walnuts, Shion gasped like a fish on land and sank down to the floor beside the entrance, her augmented muscles uncoiling and seeping back into her skin. Her hands were shaking badly as she lifted them to hold her heavy head. _Oh shit, oh god, oh shit, I made it, I made it._ It wasn't happiness that filled her at the revelation, just a relieved sense of shock. Honestly, she never thought she'd make it past the river.

For a brief, beautiful moment, Shion felt both disconnected from and blanketed by the crowd of commuters that milled about her without a second-glance, the sterile smell of disinfectant and the clean, automated announcements repeating overhead. It looked like the dog had given up the chase for the moment. Should she buy a ticket? Best not, they'd only have a record of her then, and it wasn't like she was bothering anyone here. She just needed to catch her breath. _Just for a minute, just give me a-_ her phone started vibrating in her hoodie. Dully, she pulled it out.

"…H-hello?" her voice was horribly cracked and alien even to her own ears.

"Shion! Where the fuck are you?"

"O-Onii-san," Shion didn't know why but the sound of her older brother's voice, even harsh with anger, almost brought her to tears.

She'd been so scared. She _was_ so scared. Shion lifted a trembling hand and pressed it hard against her mouth. Dressed like some bandit, she probably already looked suspicious enough; breaking down crying would hardly help.

"I'm in the subway, near the Diner-"

"Wait there," Hiroto didn't sound in pain or scared, or even worried.

He just sounded angry. Very, _very_ angry...which generally was Hiroto's emotional response towards fear and/or concern, so she couldn't say she was surprised. Shion would have almost felt sorry for Fuse if the Hero hadn't sicced two of her mutant dogs on her.

"W-wait, what about the dogs-"

"I _said_ wait right fucking there!"

The call disconnected. Shion's head dropped into the cradle of her arms, balanced on her shaking knees. She didn't know what the hell was going on, but at least she didn't have to worry about what the hell she was going to _do_ anymore. Hiroto was going to turn up and he'd sort everything out like old times, and the mad dash from the Diner would just become some funny story they'd tell over takeout. ' _Hey, Shion, remember that time you were chased down the street by two giant dogs and had to kick in a bus window?' 'Oh yeah, I was so terrified, almost pissed myself, hahaha!'_

Shion snorted. Even the laugh in her imagination sounded near hysterical. But it was going to be okay now. Everything was going to be fine. Her big brother wouldn't let her down. He'd be here. After all, he was strong enough to get rid of his _own_ pursuers, so the lone dog searching about for her outside would be no problem. Heartbeat finally lulling to something resembling normal, Shion tilted her head back – and froze.

Sniffing and chuffing softly through the crowd was a dog. Not an overly-tall, overly strong dog, but one whose white coat speckled with brown was familiar all the same. The Pointer from the bar. _That bastard!_ It was a little ridiculous to feel personally betrayed by the animal just because she'd taken the time to stroke him, but Shion felt she deserved some leeway given all the grief he and his master had given her. Because she wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but she wasn't stupid enough to believe that the _same_ dog _just happened_ to show up as soon as she'd shaken off the other one pursuing her.

Shion must have made some sort of aborted noise or movement, because suddenly the Pointer lifted its head and locked eyes with her. Her stomach plummeted, that horrible 'oh god, I'm going to die' plummet that preceded a drop in a roller coaster. She didn't move. The dog didn't move. _Please, please, please just give me a break. Just this once!_

Slowly, the Pointer lifted his head…

"W-wait!"

… And howled.

Shion couldn't remember wanting to hurt an animal, but right then she would have happily punted that damn dog to the moon and back. She should have pushed herself to a subway station that wasn't as close to the diner. Scratch that, she shouldn't have stepped foot in the diner in the first place - not that she could have said 'no' when Hiroto called, anyway. Shion could have gone on for hours, listing all the ways she was a colossal idiot, and batting them back with how they weren't _really her fault, if you thought about it._ But she didn't have hours – not with the Boxer galloping down the steps. Not with whatever further back-up the Pointer had alerted with his howl.

Shion's legs felt like wet paper as she shoved herself to her feet again with a pained groan. There was no 'almost there' spurning her on anymore, because there was nowhere else she _could_ go. The subway might have worked for a single dog, but if Fuse and the rest of the Canine Warriors were hunting her down then Shion hadn't got a snowball's chance in hell. Hiroto was her only hope now. For a horrible moment, Shion wasn't entirely sure whether her belief was spurred on by _real_ faith in her brother, or because she _had to_ believe in him if she didn't want to make it out of this in the back of a police car. _Well, that's an insidious thought, thanks brain. Not that it matters now, anyway._

There was a building current of agitation in the subway as Shion started towards the ticket gates. As the Boxer padded down the last few steps and sniffed at the air, the other commuters started looking about themselves with anxious confusion, ready to either expel the source of the disruption or run.

Nearly everyone enjoyed watching a Hero fight on the news, but no one wanted to be _involved_ in one. Conflict was fine from a safe distance, when you didn't have to get the groceries home or meet your friends at the local izakaya, or get your young children home for bed so they could get up for school tomorrow. Fifteen-year-old girl or not, Shion knew that the rest of the people on the platform would hand her over in less than a heartbeat if it meant they could carry on with their lives unscathed. She didn't blame them, after all they had families to worry about. And, when it really came down to it, what the hell did they owe _her?_ If they felt guilty about it later, well, a Hero's option was apparently far more valid than anyone else's, so they could console themselves in the knowledge that Shion was probably an awful person that deserved whatever she got anyway.

 _But I didn't do anything wrong._

Shion was just over the ticket booth when something snagged at her boot. Suddenly there were screams everywhere. Shion went down hard. Rolled over, felt the cold floor under her cheek. People running. The train platform emptying. Shouts coming from the stairs. Police sirens outside.

Her boot was trapped between the teeth of the Boxer. _Oh. Oh shit._ He'd just caught her heel, teeth hooked into the leather and whipped her back to the floor mid-stride. Something reared up in panic in the primal part of Shion's brain, and her other leg was flashing out, kicking the Boxer right between the eyes before Shion even knew what the hell she was doing. There must have been some genuine _force,_ or maybe the dog hadn't been expecting her to retaliate because it released her with a yelp. Shion didn't think she'd ever kicked another conscious being so hard before – honestly, she wasn't sure she could do it again either. But at that moment, she didn't regret it. She got one leg under her, arms braced against the floor, but really? What was the point? Where could she even go?

"Tei, don't let her get up!" Fuse's (and Shion's somehow not even surprised the Hero managed to get here before her brother) command cut through the din.

Something huge and scarred, with drooping ears and jowls folded back over snarling teeth, vaulted over the ticket booth. Shion took one look at the Tosa-Ken, and immediately remembered that 'not getting mauled by some giant dog' was as good a reason to haul ass as any. Not that a renewed sense of purpose did the blonde any good. She barely managed to push herself to her knees when the Tosa-Ken slammed into her side, one paw planted on her back and teeth sinking into her shoulder as he ragged at her like a doll.

The train arrived at the station to that picture of defeat: hooded figure screaming with a giant dog rising over her, muzzle rippled in a snarl, teeth caught in the meat of her shoulder. The sheer embarrassment was actually worse for Shion than the pain at this point. Which was not to say that it didn't hurt like a total bitch.

The Tosa-Ken snarled again, shook her with warning. Shion felt the fight rush out of her. She went limp, face pressed against the cool concrete and eyes blankly staring out at the dark underbelly of the train. How was this fair? What had she done to deserve this? Heroes dealt with situations with their own impunity, but what happened when their judgement was wrong?

 _Shion_ happened – Shion pinned to the floor of a subway station as she bled through her hoodie. And the decision to put her here, would only be questioned by other authorities _after_ it was made.

"Get back, Police area, please vacate!" someone was blowing a whistle, no doubt trying to herd anyway curious onlookers.

They hadn't emptied the train yet, which meant that there was probably another wall of people pressed up against the train windows trying to get a peek at the hubbub. Shion thought of all the people watching her pinned to the cold floor like a bug under glass. All those people watching, and not one of them did anything or at least _questioned_ any of this. How was it right that Shion should feel like the humiliated one here?

Footsteps tapped against the floor, the edge of Fuse's cloak brushed against Shion's leg.

"Your accomplice managed to escape, where is he?"

Shion didn't reply. Not because she was being brave or defiant, but because she didn't trust herself to.

"Answer me!" in response to his master's raised voice, the Tosa-Ken gave another warning growl. Clearly, they weren't happy about Hiroto managing to slip through their net. _Good, I hope he gave you assholes a beating too while he was at it._

"H-he's…"

"Speak up," she demanded.

"He's not my damn 'accomplice,' alright?" Shion's voice was almost unrecognisable, wet with embarrassed tears and thick with nerves. "Maybe you bastards should get your facts right before you start tackling people to the ground!"

Fuse paused. Honestly, Shion didn't care if the Hero _was_ going to sic another dog on her. She'd had enough. She was so far past ' _enough_ '! Shion was _pissed off!_ And wrung out, and terrified, and in not a small amount of pain, and she'd _had it, okay, she'd had it!_

She'd always thought that it would only take one wrong look or one wrong move, and she'd end up locked up like her parents had been. For years and years and years, that sinister little worry had been gnawing at her every time they passed a police car in the street like a gnat. Like a hospital patient would read up on their symptoms, she'd read up on statistics of the wrongly accused, on the damage caused to suspects (or bystanders) during an attempted arrest, on what some Heroes thought constituted 'reasonable' force. She'd always believed, deep down, thatthis would happen to her. Shion had predicted the fear and the panic. But, she hadn't expected the powerful surge of a frustration that had been brewing and brooding right alongside that worry for years.

It didn't matter what Shion _did:_ she was guilty in their eyes. It didn't matter what Shion _said:_ she was guilty in their eyes. Ergo, Shion could say what she damn well pleased! Because the people loitering over her prone body weren't her _friends,_ they weren't _anyone_ Shion was willing to keep the peace for, and she had enough of being scared and hunted through Fukuoka by some assholes who thought it was okay to completely upend her life again like it was no big deal!

"Nonsense," Fuse tried to sound dismissive, but there was a noticeable quiver in her voice. "You met with him-"

"I've met a dude dressed as Mario before, you gonna arrest me for that _too_?"

Shion was anything but intimidating, crying and prone on the floor, but it wasn't like she could embarrass herself further. _They_ should be embarrassed!

"What the hell did I do wrong, huh? I've had to jump across a river and break out of bus to escape you assholes, so the _least_ you could do is _tell me what the hell you're arresting me for!_ And it damn well better be something better than you met up with some guy, because last I checked that wasn't a crime!"

"Fuse-sama…?" one of the policemen prompted uncertainly.

No answer. And Shion couldn't even take a measly amount in satisfaction in the questioning hush that followed, because it didn't make her situation the least bit better.

"You…" Fuse trailed off, before starting again with a business-like tone. "You can take your complaints up with the Osaka authorities after I-"

 **SMASH**

Until that moment, Shion hadn't known that a dog could _scream_ in such a way. The sound made every single cell in her body seize up. One of Fuse's massive dogs was flung from the back of the room with the velocity of bullet, smacking against the docked train so hard that the windows shuddered in their frames. The following wet smack of the dog's skull meeting a cold, unyielding surface was arguably worse. Shion twisted her head away from the train and squeezed her eyes shut, but even then, she could hear that _awful_ noise.

There was a limp thump as the dog's body slid to the floor. Then, between the crevices in the shocked silence Hiroto's laughter came creeping out, gaining in strength and volume as the screams started. His shape blocked out the lights. He had another dog's head trapped inside his massive fist, the poor animal whining pitifully as it was dragged along. The thing strutting towards Fuse and the police wasn't her brother. Shion wasn't entirely sure the worming mass of raw muscle was even _human._ But it sounded like Hiroto. Not the Hiroto that Shion _remembered,_ but the Hiroto that Shion knew was hiding somewhere behind the feral smiles - the one Shion had carefully avoiding peeking at, because she'd always hoped that if she didn't see it then it couldn't hurt her.

"Holy shit…" breathed one of the police officers, with the kind of fascinated horror usually reserved for tsunamis or earthquakes or any other force of nature that was capable of levelling a town.

Shion couldn't remember the last time she'd agreed with a member of law enforcement as much as she did then. 'Holy shit' was right. Hiroto had come to save her, but suddenly a part of Shion was really wishing he hadn't.

 _Hiroto had no self-restraint._

"Get those people off that train _right now!"_ Fuse half-ordered, half-shrieked. "We'll hold him off!"

Shion didn't know how Fuse was going achieve that; in her option there were very few people on earth who could. Watch a wrecking ball go through a plywood fence, and _then_ you might have some idea of how woefully inadequate Fuse's efforts would be. The Boxer was the first to leap forward, and watching Hiroto move was like watching violence personified. He didn't blink, didn't stop grinning. The hand still gripping the struggling dog came crashing down onto the Boxer's back with a ferocity that was hard to look at directly. The concrete cracked with a sickening noise, the sheer force of the blow made the floor shake and showered the subway with a fine powder of dust. Shion's heartbeats mirrored the brief flickering of the lights.

 _That's…not Onii-san. It can't be. Not even an hour ago, he patted my head with that hand. It can't be him._

The rest of the dogs converged on Hiroto with howls and snarls, trying to crowd him away from the civilians. At the same moment, the two train doors furthest from Hiroto swished open and the policemen started bodily pulling passengers out and away from the danger zone. Shion was still staring blankly at the laughing mass of muscle with a horrified sort of fascination.

A little boy screamed, sobbing for his father, and it was only then that the stupor broke. _Kiku. I have to get home._ It felt like breaking for air. Shion struggled, the jaws on her shoulder clamped tighter and she yelled with frustration. _Home, home, home. Okaa-san watching her TV dramas. Take-outs. Fluffy slippers. Tou-san's ridiculous look of concentration as he perfected his hair in the mirror in the hall. My room, my posters, the collection of bobbleheads on my windowsill, my music. Kiku._ _Okaa-san. Tou-san._ _Home._

An ominous growl rumbled by her ear before the weight was lifted. Shion squinted just as Hiroto's steel-capped boot caught the Tosa-Ken right under the ribs. The huge dog was airborne for a single moment then Hiroto's fist hit it mid-air, slamming into its side and leaning into the motion until the dog smashed through the window of the train. The movement was so smooth, quick and fluid but with such a well of strength behind every single move. She wouldn't compare it to dancing. Watching Hiroto come loose and destroy everything around him, was more like watching a scientific law in motion. Shion hadn't meant her earlier uncharitable thoughts. She wanted to tell Fuse to get the dogs out now, because Hiroto was going to tear through every single one of them effortlessly.

"Run!" he yelled at her, uncovered eye alive with a sadistic sort of glee and breathing like a bull mid-charge.

Shion scrambled to her feet. She didn't need to be told twice.

The Tosa-ken's jaw darted out from the broken window and snapped onto Hiroto's shoulder, trying to anchor him back against the side of the train. It only made her older brother laugh. The dog snarled with surprised anger as the Augmented Muscles in Hiroto's shoulder wrapped around its thick neck. Hiroto braced before dropping to his knees, prompting another miniature earthquake and a fresh round of screaming. The Tosa-ken flopped limply out the train window, its neck grotesquely stretched and boneless.

She didn't stay around to watch anymore - _couldn't_ stay around to watch.

First priority was getting people out ( _anyone_ who wasn't the blood-crazed maniac brutalising anything on four legs, that is). Shion was too shaken to be relieved that blending into the crowd was so easy. When she emerged into the night air to a concentric of police cars and ambulances, she almost didn't want to believe it. After everything, it _couldn't_ be over that easily. It didn't make sense. A sudden, violent end for a sudden, violent beginning.

Stumbling, feeling blind and buffeted and nauseatingly weightless, Shion jerked towards the shop fronts and rested her face against the cool glass window. The cheery yellow M of the 24-hour MacDonald's above her seemed almost spitefully normal. She _needed_ normal right now.

Apparently, some of the other commuters had reached the same decision. Shion glanced numbly at a dazed-looking businessman sitting by the window with dust frosting the shoulders of his suit, an untouched paper bag resting on the plastic table in front of him. A McDonald's employee watched them both with wide-eyes and open-mouthed expression – Shion had the perverse urge to flash him a thumbs-up, but she probably already looked mental enough without needing to cement the impression.

It was almost too bright, almost too clean, but somehow Shion managed to stagger into the women's bathroom. She wasn't entirely sure how or why she was doing anything at that moment. It was mercifully empty, Shion locked herself in the first stall, sat on the toilet seat and tried very hard to hold herself together. _No, no, come on, calm down. Deep breathes. You're fine, you're safe now. Idiot, don't cry._ With shaking hands, she reached into her hoodie and pulled out her phone.

"Hello~" the chirpy voice almost undoes all her efforts completely.

"Yo, Okaa-san, I, erm…"

The blonde burst into tears before she could even finish the sentence. Great, ugly heaving sobs that feel like they were _pouring_ out of her. The kind that shook her shoulders, and kept coming and coming, and she couldn't even think about anything bar that awful, awful knotted tightness bleeding through her chest. _Everything went to shit, and it wasn't my fault, but I couldn't stop it either. And somehow that seems worse._


	12. Shion Koyama vs the Long Arm of the Law

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

One of my reviewers quite rightly questioned why Shion immediately ran away from Fuse and the Canine Warriors (and if they're still reading, I'd like to repeat that I'm glad you did). I'd like to explain here for anyone else wondering, that Shion did _not_ make the right decision but she _did_ make one that was in character. Had it been Midoriya or Momo, they would have handed themselves in and the entire mess could have been avoided. But this is Shion, and she has a pretty ingrained mistrust of the police. She's been suspicious and pre-judged the U.A. faculty and some of the students who are from more obvious Hero backgrounds (Momo being a prime example) due to her own prejudices throughout – it wouldn't have made sense for her to just hand herself over.

I didn't intend to do this just to generate drama and I'm really sorry if it came across that way, I wanted Shion to have flaws (in this case, her preconception of what Heroes are like) and suffer for those flaws, so she can grow as a person. That said, it _is_ going to be addressed in this chapter.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. the Long Arm of the Law**

 **.**

 **"Enough what? Hair or-** **"**

 **\- Hanako Koyama**

 **.**

After being hunted through night-time traffic and caught in the middle of a brawl, Shion could safely say that her parents' reactions were the most jarring experience of the entire night. It was a close call, since the latter hadn't left her bruised, bleeding and sobbing like a toddler in a McDonald's bathroom. But as shocking as Hiroto's actions were, they were also _expected_ to a certain extent.

What Shion had _not_ expected was the cold, controlled air surrounding her usually flamboyant mother when Hanako arrived. The fifteen-year-old had been braced for Hanako's entrance, already exhausted by the _thought_ of the barrage of questions and over-the-top concern. When she opened the stall (after an agreed upon knocking sequence, of course), she'd almost instinctively shut it again. Not just because Hanako didn't _look_ like Hanako, in those baggy clothes and dull wig, but because Hanako wasn't _acting_ much like Hanako. Or, at least, the Hanako that Shion was familiar with.

Shion had often wondered how the hell her parents had managed to pull off raiding the fridge, never mind a bank vault. She loved her father, but Koyama Hiroki wasn't exactly the image of wise, patient guy in a business suit, playing shogi and speaking entirely in cool one-liners. Her father belched loudly on trains to purposefully annoy fuddy-duddy old-timers, and had on one memorable occasion failed to understand the plot of 'I'm Not Afraid of my Potty!' – now that Shion thought about it, it was a little scary that the same man could punch out a tank with his bare hands.

Koyama Hanako, however, had been a different story. In an abstract way, Shion knew that her mother was capable of both great intelligence (well, Kiku had to get it from _somewhere)_ and the pragmatic coldness necessary for their lifestyle. While Hiroki tried to cover up his insecurity regarding his IQ with big gestures or displays of strength; Hanako didn't seem to place any importance on hers _._ Shion suspected her mother just found life easier when everyone thought she was a bimbo. Not that there was any way of knowing, since Hanako would just giggle girlishly and change the subject if asked, knowing full well that her daughter didn't have the persistence to keep hassling her about it.

Still… Shion had only _known_ that her mother was smart, in the same way she knew that dinosaurs had once roamed the Earth. It was considerably different _seeing_ a velociraptor up close.

"Put this on," Hanako instructed flatly, handing her daughter a rucksack.

"The bag?" Shion tried to lighten the mood, though her chuckle was conspicuously watery.

Hanako didn't so much as blink. "The clothes and the wig inside the bag. Hurry."

Disorientated, Shion had done exactly that, shooting her mother questioning looks the entire time.

"Hey, er, Okaa-san-"

"Sit down," Hanako instructed before Shion could finish.

The blonde plopped onto the toilet without another word. Brandishing a make-up brush, Hanako set to work with a focus more suited to dismantling a bomb. Shion gulped. It took two wigs, a change of clothes and one account of cosmetic wizardry before Hanako was satisfied enough to let them leave the MacDonald's bathroom. Hanako set a brisk pace, not exactly rushing but purposeful enough that people didn't bother them.

There were ambulances and police cars congregated around the subway steps outside, commuters wrapped in foil blankets or giving witness accounts to exhausted looking officers. Despite the hustle of activity, an odd fugue had settled over the scene of the crime, much like the lull after a big storm. Feeling suddenly very tired, Shion watched the flash of ambulance lights reflect in the darkened window of a shopfront. No one looked _too_ hurt, right? In a day or two, you probably wouldn't be able to tell Hiroto had even been there. There was something both very reassuring and very sad about that, though Shion couldn't tell you why.

They could patch up the commuters – and they definitely _should_ because they hadn't had much choice in what went down so why should they suffer for it – and they could patch up the subway, but… well, it _still_ happened. Koyama Hiroto had still turned up and… did what he did, and, well – Shion was losing her train of thought. More than that, this particular train of thought was making her uncomfortable and she'd had quite enough of feeling uncomfortable for one night. Giving herself a mental shake, Shion tugged at her mother's sleeve like she was a small child again. Hanako didn't glance back but she did lift her chin to show that she was listening.

"What about shades and stuff, y'know? We should at least put our hoods up, yeah?" Shion whispered.

"No, it'll look suspicious," Hanako dismissed.

In some ways, it was reassuring to have control snatched back by her mother. In other more pressing ways, her mother's attitude was freaking her the hell out.

"Er, look, Okaa-san, I'm… er, really sorry about-"

"We'll talk about it when we get home. Keep up."

Sufficiently cowed, Shion ducked her head and toddled after her mother's confident stride, hand still clutching self-consciously around the older woman's sleeve. It'd help if Shion knew her mother was pissed at her. Or worried. Or _anything,_ really. Because trying to interpret Hanako's mood at the moment was next to impossible. Still, as alien as the stony expression was, Shion reminded herself that the woman wearing it was still her mother. _It's okay, Okaa-san will sort all this out. It'll be fine._

The pair only made it three steps up the garden path, before the front door was flung open and Koyama Hiroki came barrelling out towards them. Shion barely had time to register the great bear of a man, before he was pulling her up and into a hug. She felt a little guilty about it ('girl power' and all that stuff) but wrapped up in her father's huge arms was the first time she'd felt truly, _properly_ safe all night. Nothing could touch her with Hiroki there. Her mother might be the one who sorted out their problems and called the shots; but Shion knew without a shadow of a doubt that nothing could get within five feet of her at that moment without Hiroki booting it into the stratosphere. Hiroki squeezed, and that girlish part of her that's always relied on her big brother and her father for protection sighed a little with relief. _Safe._

Hiroki stopped squeezing the life out her long enough to pat huge, paw-like hands over her face, dislodging the wig in the process and scowling fiercely at the cut on her chin.

"You alright, Shion?"

"Eh, I've had better days, Tou-san. Not gonna lie," Shion smiled, feeling very wobbly (both emotionally and physically).

Hiroki snorted, "bet you have. It's okay now, yeah?"

Shion had been trying to tell herself that since she'd left the subway. It was only when her father said it that it felt real. _Shit, now I have the urge to cry again._

"Come on, we can do this inside," Hanako urged, though not ungently. Some of the coldness had thawed from her eyes, instead she was glancing warily at the neighbour's darkened windows.

It was a little strange walking back into the house. Logically, Shion knew that it had only been a matter of hours since she'd last left and there was no reason at all for it to look any different. But somehow, she was _expecting_ it to. Not drastically different, but something to make the place feel a little more real, and little less like she was stepping into a postcard of their living room. Garish ornaments. Ugly wallpaper. Big couch. Big TV. Cluster of diamante edged mirrors hanging next to the shoe-rack. At least, Kiku didn't seem to be rattling around. The ten-year-old had enough going on without her stupid, older sister causing her any more stress.

Hanako seemed to return to her familiar self in the familiar setting.

"Shion-chan, kitchen. Hiroki, grab the medical kit. Chop, chop~"

"Eh?" Hiroki spluttered. "She's hurt? Where?"

"Just grab the kit, we'll sort it out in the kitchen."

Hiroki paused to shoot them both suspicious looks but otherwise did was he was told. Shion could only shrug helplessly, more than willing to hand the reins to someone else. Hanako ushered her onto a chair at the kitchen table, flicking the kettle on and wetting a paper cloth as she made a circuit around the countertop.

Shion had often wondered why they bothered with such a high-tech kitchen since the Koyama family practically lived on take-out. _Probably another status symbol._ But then again, no one every visited the Koyama household so who exactly did they have to show off _to?_ When it came to her parents, there were some inconsistencies Shion would never understand. You didn't really realise how many small ways people were strange until you were living with them.

"Shion-chan," Hanako's words broke through Shion's dazed musings. "Can you lift your jumper?"

"Eh?" the blonde blinked, before struggling with the fleece material. "Er, yeah, I think-"

"Here," Hanako gently peeled it from her, moving cautiously around her daughter's throbbing shoulder when Shion winced.

Of course, Hiroki chose that moment to blunder back in, little green bag clutched in one huge hand.

"Shit! What the fuck is that!"

Shion winced. _Too loud, Tou-san._

"Hiroki, calm down," Hanako gave him an imperious pout over her shoulder.

"'Calm down'? You're shitting me, right? Someone's taken a _chunk_ out of my daughter, and you're telling me to fucking _calm down_!"

To further punctuate his anger, Hiroki threw the medic bag onto the table with a resounding smack. Not that his anger _needed_ much punctuating, what with the red face, wild eyes and alarmingly visible veins bulging out of his neck.

Shion shifted. He looked a little too much like Hiroto at that moment to be entirely comfortable with. Especially after the subway. _No, don't think about the subway. The subway doesn't exist. I'll damn well catapult myself to school from now on if I have to._

With a huff, Hanako spun to face him directly, hands on her wide hips. "Do you want to wake up half the street?"

"I wanna break the face of whatever bastard's done that to her!"

"Well, that's not really an option right now, hm?"

"It fucking well _should_ be!"

Hanako shifted her weight back onto one foot and, with her back still to her, Shion _felt_ more than saw the smile that graced her mother's face. A sigh escaped her mouth and she futilely eyed the table for cover. _Oh boy._

"Hiroki, sit your ass down. If you want to have a screaming match, we'll have a screaming match, but I _assure_ you there's only going to be one winner~"

For a tense moment, her father did nothing but stare at her mother, fists clenching and looking liable to blow. Eventually, he threw himself into the nearest chair, hard enough that the wood made an ominous cracking noise. It was a little humiliating, watching her father get cut down like that, but her mother _did_ kind of have a point. Still, Shion made an extra effort not to look in Hiroki's direction (or _anyone's_ direction, for that matter), sure that any sympathetic looks would only rekindle his previous outrage.

More than that though, Shion wished they hadn't bothered getting into a domestic _at all_. She had had a shitty night. She was tired, and hurt and just really, _really_ confused about what the hell was going on with her big brother; and she just wanted them to tell her everything was fine, run her a bath, tuck her in bed and then leave her alone so she could sleep off the horrible shaky feeling in her stomach. Was that too much to ask? Squashed between the two overpowering personalities of her parents, it felt a little more than Shion was willing _to_ ask. She'd had enough of confrontation for the night and wasn't willing to incite any another argument, even by asking the pair of them to _stop_ their current one.

"We haven't got much time before the police arrive, and I want Shion's shoulder treated and for us to get our story straight," Hanako continued.

Only one word stood out to Shion, "eh? Police? But I thought that – why the hell did you get me to wear this goofy disguise then?"

"To buy us a little time so we could treat your shoulder and get our story straight," Hanako rolled her eyes, and tutted. "Honestly, Shion-chan, _listen_. I couldn't exactly take you to one of our hide-outs, that'd only implicate us all further, _but_ we should have some time before they trace the security feed from MacDonald's."

Hanako clapped her hands brightly. " _So,_ I want you go over everything that happened tonight, okay? _Everything._ Spare no details, Shion-chan~"

Shion paled. Her mother was acting like they were besties swapping info on their crushes. Still, it was better than that cold, business-like attitude from before.

"…Do I _have_ to?" the blonde whined, grimacing.

"Look, just give it a rest, Hana-chan. The kid's ready to drop," Hiroki piped up for the first time since he started sulking at the other end of the table. He muttered a curse and stomped off for the fridge when Hanako ignored him altogether.

"Try for Mama, okay Shion-chan? This is important," Hanako beamed at her reluctant daughter.

 _Okay, okay. This is important, important stuff with important consequences._ It didn't matter how much she _wanted_ to haul herself off to bed, the Police would still turn up. They needed to sort it out, find a solution, and you could only find a solution when you understood the problem. _So, here goes…_

"Er, so, Onii-san called a few days ago when I was at school and stuff, y'know, and him and Tou-san had an argument later…" Shion trailed off when Hiroki slammed the fridge door shut far harder than was necessary.

… _Okay, so Onii-san's a touchy subject at the moment. Wow, that's gonna make this a hell of a lot easier._

"Look, Okaa-san, I'm not being funny but could you… I dunno, chloroform Tou-san or something if he puffs up like an angry balloon?"

"Why would I puff up?" Hiroki asked, his voice dangerously low. She'd never before felt sympathy for a can of Dr Pepper before, but the one her father was currently squishing within an inch of its sell-by-date looked particularly pitiful.

"Shion-chan, I'm not chloroforming your father."

"Why would I _puff up,_ Shion-chan?"

"See! He's wigging out already, and I haven't even got to the giant, mutant dogs yet!" Shion gestured at where her father was glaring by the fridge.

Hiroki made some sort of furious choking sound. The can exploded with a pained gasp of fizzing cola.

Hanako just sighed.

/-/-/

Miraculously, Shion managed to recount the entire, sorry night without her father putting his fists or his head through the kitchen table. Getting through the first part was surprisingly easy. Shion's story telling skills weren't the most concise, but Hanako pursed doggedly through thickets of tangents and anecdotes and useless trivia until she could have recited the order of events as if she'd been there herself. It was only when it came to telling them – and by extension, _lingering on_ – what had happened to Hiroto in the subway that Shion clammed up.

Because that was the easiest way to think of it: _something_ had happened _to_ Hiroto in the subway. Something else entirely had caused her older brother to have a momentary lapse in human empathy and decide it was a good idea to… hurt those dogs like he had. It didn't matter, anyway. Shion didn't want to talk about, didn't want to _think_ about it and if her parents pushed her on this well, then she would just get up and go to bed! Probably. _If_ her father stopped looking like he was on the verge of going ape-shit. The point was she was _not_ doing this right now!

"Then Okaa-san came and picked me up, and that's… er, about it," Shion shrugged.

Hanako leaned back in her seat and drummed her hands on the table top. Shion couldn't help but wonder if the look she would have received in an interrogating room would have been so different if she _had_ been caught. Her mother had been treating her shoulder and pressing ice-packs for her other bruises throughout, while also prodding and prompting Shion back on track when the blonde's train of thought derailed too far. Hiroki had been quiet on the matter. However, Hiroki had _also_ been banished to other end of the table until he could get his emotions under control (which meant that her father would probably be spending the rest of this life down there from now on), so she supposed that most of his muttered grumbling probably wasn't audible from their end.

 _No one's saying anything._ Honestly, Shion couldn't figure out if that was worse. She almost flinched when her mother swept out of her seat and set about making tea from the kettle she'd forgotten boiling earlier, her movements too controlled to be anything other than an attempt to keep busy.

Shion didn't like tea much (more of a hot chocolate fan, if anything), but at this point she was willing to accept a cup of toilet water if it was presented as a peace offering.

"Oh! Thanks, Okaa-san-"

"Why did you run?"

Shion blinked.

"Why did you run?" Hanako repeated, eyes narrowed above the rim of her cup. "We could have avoided all this if you'd just stayed put."

Feeling oddly betrayed, Shion cast a glance towards her father. He looked just as confused as she did. "B-because…. Because I didn't do anything wrong?"

" _Precisely,"_ Hanako sighed. "You _hadn't_ done anything wrong, _until_ you decided to run from a licensed Hero, use your Quirk in public _and_ damage public property. Those aren't tiny offences, and with Hiroto-kun connected to this, the most you can hope for now is that _some_ of those charges don't end up on your record."

Shion got the horrible sinking feeling that she was losing ground fast. What made it worse, was that the person firing the bullets was _supposed_ to be one of her allies in this.

"But-"

"But what, Shion?" Hanako snapped.

Shion felt about five again. Her stomach felt like it was curdling, trying to roll away further into her body to avoid admonishment, her toes and her fingers clenched, eyes glued to the table top. Why was her mother starting on _her_?

Okay, so her mother had a point, Shion had messed up… a lot, but did that mean she could start laying into her? Plus, Shion was pretty sure she could be excused for not thinking rationally when there was a _massive warrior dog_ bearing down on her. Besides, how did Hanako get the right to start berating Shion _now,_ when her mother hadn't bothered to ask her where she'd been going at 9pm on Saturday night in the first place! Oh, the _things_ Shion could reprimand her parents for _,_ and _she'd_ had the decency not to throw it in _their_ faces – she even hadn't agreed with Hiroto for their sake, despite it almost causing an argument! No, Shion always kept the peace and tried to avoid hurting everyone's feelings, and what did she get for it, huh? The shitty end of the stick, that's what.

"Well?" Hanako prompted, clearly still expecting an answer although her daughter clearly didn't want to give one.

"I-I dunno, alright!" Shion yelled, throwing her hands up. She still wasn't brave enough to look up from the table and her voice sounded more baffled than full of righteous fury, but she hoped the volume conveyed enough frustration to get the pink-haired woman off her back.

"I just saw them and panicked, yeah? I thought they were gonna arrest me or beat me up or something!"

Hanako, however, was having none of it.

"What could they have arrested you for at the Diner, hm? Eating with Intent? Three accounts of Grievous Buffet Harm?"

 _Okay, they were pretty good. Hurtful but pretty good._

"Alright, chill out, Hana! They could have forced a confession outta her or something!" Hiroki chose that moment to enter the conversation again. For what little good it did him.

"Don't even _start_ with that! You feeding her that kind of rubbish is _exactly_ why we're in this mess in the first place."

"What 'rubbish'?" Hiroki's mouth twisted in a sardonic smile. "You think those bastards _aren't_ gonna take one look at her family tree and decide to clamp down before she becomes a problem, huh? Pah, keep dreaming, Hana! Look, not all of us had the fucking _luxury_ of growing up with a rich Mama and Papa-"

"Oh, _spare me_ the whole 'I grew up in a rough neighbourhood' shit, Hiroki. You can't keep dropping that into every damn argument. Your dad was a real asshole, it was hard, I _get it!_ So, if you could, _please stop_ punishing me for growing up with a little money- _"_

"A little? You're kidding, yeah? _Everything_ boils down to damn money with you, Hana! Maybe _you_ should stop punishing _me_ for not having enough!"

"Enough what?" Hanako blinked with faux innocence, a manicured finger tapping her bottom lip in an almost cartoonish gesture of contemplation. "Hair or-"

"THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!"

 _Urgh, they're aiming shots at each other's hair now, I might be here all night._ Shion sighed. If there was one upside to seeing her parents bicker like children, it was that it had normalised the night for her at least. Not that her parents bickered continuously or anything, but it wasn't exactly a 'once in a solar eclipse' deal either. And it _always_ seemed to be the same argument.

Shion sincerely wished she had the guts to drop a few home truths with all the weight of a coffin lid to finally put the conversation to rest, like they did on TV dramas. But she knew it wouldn't work like that in real life. In real life people very rarely appreciated having their mistakes echoed back at them. If Shion told her parents that _they_ were the reason she ran, that she still felt the urge to run every time she heard a siren, they wouldn't all have a moment of quiet introspection, instead all hell would break lose. You'd have to _scrap_ Shion's remains from the kitchen ceiling with a poop-a-scoop.

Still, with the imminent threat of the police's arrival looming over them, she'd have to _try_ to calm the situation.

"Erm, Tou-san, Okaa-san," Shion interjected, as her father looked ready to start flipping tables and her mother just looked smug. "Maybe we should do this another time, yeah?"

 _Or never. Please be never._

"Shion-chan's right, we still need to work out what we're going to say. Didn't I say you were a smart cookie, Shion-chan~" Hanako patted at her head, before taking out her phone (the newest model, in hot pink and covered in diamantes) and opening the EMail app.

Shion wasn't sure how exactly she'd been promoted from 'scourge of the buffet table' to 'smart cookie,' but she wasn't complaining.

Hiroki, on the other hand, didn't seem willing to completely relinquish his anger, but he was just as reluctant to further disrupt the fledging peace between himself and his wife. That left him with only one other outlet.

"Fucking Hiro-kun," the huge man muttered, standing from his chair only to grasp the back and lean his entire (considerable) weight on it instead. "None of this would have happened if he hadn't have dragged Shion-chan into it. Why did he do that, anyway?"

"We'll never know, sweetheart," perhaps sensing the brewing storm, Hanako had softened her voice but still didn't look up from whatever she was typing.

"And Onii-san came back for me, y'know, so he's not all bad. He was trying to protect me, right?" Shion tried to interject.

The quick look of panic her mother shot her was all the prior warning she had before Hiroki literally _folded_ the chair under him like it was cardboard. Apparently… that had been the _wrong_ thing to say.

"When are you going to wake up, huh, Shion? Your brother is a selfish asshole! You could have been _killed_ in that subway, and he didn't give a shit as long as he gets to have his fun! He is a selfish, fucking asshole! You hear me?"

"Y-yeah, okay, jeez! Why are you starting on _me_? I didn't do anything!" Shion held her hands up. Her father had never shouted at her like that before, not once. It'd felt like her heart had jolted out of her chest for a moment.

"I'm not starting on you, I'm just – argh!" Hiroki grabbed his face, forced himself to breathe for a few minutes. When it finally looked like he was beginning to calm down, he exploded again.

"We look after each other in this family! We _don't_ just – just _throw_ each the dogs," Hiroki cut off, snatched his phone out his pocket, glared at it for a minute, then threw it across the kitchen when he realised that he had no way of contacting Hiroto. "Shit!"

Shion ducked, as the huge man started thundering towards the door. Not because she seriously thought, even for a second, that he'd move to hurt her but because her father in that much of a temper could generate a _lot_ of excess damage. Hanako had already slipped her phone into her back pocket and was tottering after him.

"Hiroki! Where are you going?" she snagged his arm and tugged him to a halt. It was like watching a bunny rabbit pull back a charging bull.

"I'm gonna find Hiroto, and I'm gonna show him exactly why he should have been looking after his little sister!"

"And _how_ , exactly, is that going to help, hm?"

"C'mon, Hana-chan, you _know_ how much she looks up to him! Thinking about how she must have felt in that subway watching _that_ , makes me want to-"

Hanako silenced him with a slap to the chest, then jerked her chin pointedly towards where Shion was warily watching the entire exchange from the kitchen table. It took one look for all the anger to slip from Hiroto's shoulders. He tried for a smile, but to Shion it just looked sad somehow, muted and full of regret.

Despite still being angry with him for rounding on her, Shion couldn't stand seeing the big guy looking so miserable so she grinned and flashed him a thumbs-up. Hiroki snorted about the same time the doorbell rang.

Hanako opened the door before Shion could even push herself into a tailspin. Which, now she was thinking about it, was probably _exactly_ why her mother did it. A bronzed woman with drooping eyes and a too-thin nose stood there, cherry red hair scraped back into a neat bun and a navy bullet-proof vest pulled tight over an oversized suit. She was flanked with a triangular of tense officers, their hands conspicuously close to their belt radios, but the woman didn't seem to share their anxiety. Her eyes flicked from Hiroki to Hanako's beaming smile before one thick eyebrow ticked upwards in silent query. It was a look more suited to an unimpressed school teacher than a hardened officer of the Law. Honestly, Shion was privately a little disappointed by how anticlimactic they were.

"Am I interrupting anything?"

It took precisely two seconds for Hanako to morph into girlish socialite again. It was impressive to see in action: the slight positioning that emphasised the softness of her body, a flutter of eyelashes and a smile, and voila! The pink-haired woman had truly missed her calling to the stage, but then again Hanako acted as she was already the star of her own reality TV show.

"Oh, that," Hanako giggled, waving her hand as if dispelling an invisible fart. "I was just convincing Hiroki not to go looking for Hiroto-kun and give him a good hiding."

"Ah," the detective leaned back and made a strange clicking noise against the back of her teeth. "I take it you're not happy about your son's actions tonight, Koyama-san?"

"Yeah." Hiroki snorted. "You can say that again."

"Good. Good. We're on the same page then, at least," the detective beamed, before reaching out a hand and patting Hiroki on the arm.

Shion blinked. She looked from her father (overly muscled, overly tall and looking overly suspicious) to the woman and back again, trying to quantify the sheer level of balls it had taken the detective to just casually put her hands _anywhere_ near Koyama Hiroki. The detective certainly didn't _look_ all that tough, shorter than Hanako and a little pudgy around the middle if Shion was being brutally honest.

"I'm Detective Akihara Miho, and I'm going to assume you both know the reason for this house call?" at their nods, the woman continued. "I'd like to ask your daughter a few questions, please?"

"Are you gonna bring her in?" a few of the men outside took a tentative step back as Hiroki pulled himself to his full, intimidating height.

"Hopefully it won't come to that, Koyama-san, but it all really depends on answers," Akihara continued undaunted. "May we come in?"

Hiroki looked to Hanako. Hanako smiled, sweeping a hand with a flourish.

"Of course, come in, come in. Make yourselves at home~"

"Ah. Thank you," Akihara made the same clicking noise, before twisting to gesture to some of her men. Two of them followed her, looking very much like they were contemplating a career change.

"Pardon the intrusion!"

As soon as Detective Akihara had stepped into the house, her eyes alighted on Shion fidgeting nervously at the kitchen table. The other two officers were doing sweeps of their surroundings, but Akihara's gaze didn't unstick, just stayed locked on the fifteen-year-old with all the heavy expectation of a judge awaiting the accused's plea. Shion couldn't move. She felt magnified and ungainly, like her chair was going to break under her weight or her legs would come poking out the windows for all the world to see. It wasn't the first time she'd felt too big and clumsy for her surroundings, but it was the first time in a very long time that she'd felt it so painfully acutely.

Then the red-haired woman smiled, and Shion could finally breathe again.

"There she is!"

Shion had been imagining those words in a very different context. Namely screamed at her by some grizzled detective with a flashlight, while she tried to escape the law by smuggling away on some boat or something. She had _not_ expected them to be said by grinning detective as if they were some distant relative who'd visited for the first time in years. Predictably, Shion could do nothing but gawp at Akihara Miho.

"No need to look so frightened, a SWAT team isn't going to crash through the windows, I promise. We just want to get everything settled, okay?"

Shion nodded dumbly. Had she accidently fell into some sort of alternate dimension? It seemed more plausible than what was going on at the moment. The two fellow officers hauled in a recording device and, after fiddling briefly with the buttons, plonked it on table between Akihara and Shion.

"Good, good," Akihara beamed, and made that strange clicking noise again. "How are you, Koyama-chan? Any injuries?"

"Er…" Shion lifted her bandaged shoulder, before eloquently adding, "shoulder."

"Yes, your shoulder," Akihara nodded as if Shion wasn't a complete and utter simpleton.

"Chin."

"And your chin too, I see," Akihara pulled out a chair and sat across from Shion. "I suppose your Quirk pillowed you from most of the damage, right?"

Shion searched about for her mother. Was she admitting to something by confirming Akihara's assumption? Surely, they already _knew_ that Shion had activated her Quirk, so it wasn't like she was telling them anything new, but… _I don't know what the hell I'm doing!_

Hanako sashayed into the kitchen and spilled herself into the seat next to her daughter, while Hiroki watched the exchange from the wall behind them, arms crossed and glaring. _Ironic that_ they're _the ones playing good cop/bad cop here. Shit, I'm sweating. A lot. I'm gonna get arrested for sweating all over a Detective. Is that even something they arrest people for? It should be at the rate I'm going, they're gonna have to paddle out of here in Okaa-san's stupid, Disco bath!_

"…Koyama-chan?" Akihara prompted.

"Huh?" Shion jerked upright. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry. Er, what was the question?"

"Did your Quirk cushion you from most of the damage?" Akihara repeated.

"Erm…" Shion glanced at her mother, Hanako smiled and nodded. Akihara watched the entire silent exchange with a quick flick of her dark eyes.

"Yeah, it cushioned me… from stuff. Damages and, er… that stuff. Not dodgy stuff, y'know! I just meant damages, like you said, yeah?"

 _Idiot. Seriously, what the hell is coming out of my mouth right now!_

"Uh-huh. I'm getting the sense you're still a little nervous, Koyama-chan?" Akihara asked gently.

Shion couldn't help the panicked, incredulous laugh that burbled out of her mouth. "I'm literally seconds away from filling my pants! Er, no offence, Akihara-san."

 _Stop laughing like a maniac! ...And did I just tell a bunch of police officers that I'm about to shit myself?_

"It's okay, Koyama-chan, just breathe. Knowing your personal history with police visits it's understandable that this is extremely stressful for you, but I just need you to answer some questions as accurately and truthfully as you can, okay?"

"O-okay. Sorry, again."

"It's fine, Koyama-chan, you're doing just fine," Akihara's mouth lifted in an encouraging smile, before she turned to Hanako. "Koyama-san, could I trouble you for some tea, please?"

Hanako hesitated. The two women watched each other from across the table, both their faces were still smiling but their eyes definitely weren't. It only occurred to Shion then that by removing her mother, Akihara was also removing the censure on her answers. Not like Hanako could refuse. Well, she _could,_ but it'd destroy the leniency that Akihara had offered and the Detective could insist on conducting the interview in the Police Station (Shion was a little surprised that Akihara hadn't already).

"Do you boys want anything while I'm up?" Hanako winked at the two silent accompanying officers. The older one turned an alarming shade of pink.

"They're fine," Akihara interjected.

"If you say so~" Hanako threw one final look over her shoulder, before she started bustling around the rest of the kitchen.

Shion felt suddenly very vulnerable.

"I'd like to start from the beginning, Koyama-chan. How did you know to meet up with Koyama Hiroto tonight?"

"Well, er, he sent me a text."

"Can I see?"

Shion fumbled in her pocket for her phone, before remembering that it was still inside her hoodie. "Yo, Okaa-san, could you grab my hoodie?"

Hanako handed her the plastic bag, and Shion fished around until she could locate her phone. After pulling up the message, Shion handed it over to Akihara who frowned down at it.

The blonde felt absurdly self-conscious about the bluntness of the text. "Onii-san's not the most… flowery guy over texts and stuff."

"And he regularly contacts you like this?" Akihara asked, not looking up.

"Eh? Oh, the unknown number, yeah… yeah, he does. But he doesn't _regularly_ contact me, if you know what I mean. I'll get a call like every three or four months or something, but besides that," Shion shrugged to convey exactly how much she knew about what Hiroto got up to in his spare time.

It was a little embarrassing that she didn't have the first clue about the ins and outs of her big brother's life, but Shion wasn't exactly the type to press for details and Hiroto wasn't the type of person you badgered. Unless you were suicidal, that is.

"He called you not long ago," Akihara glanced up to gauge the fifteen-year-old's reaction.

"Yeah, he said he was in town and stuff and said that we should meet up," Shion didn't really get how that was relevant.

"So, you didn't know he was wanted in Osaka at the time?"

"What? No! No way, do you think I would have gone out tonight if I knew how everything would have turned out?" Shion's eyes almost bugged out her head.

"We try to keep Shion-chan ignorant of her brother's crimes," Hanako interjected. "It's relatively easy considering she's more interested in watching prank shows than the news."

 _They… they did?_ Shion turned in her chair to stare at her parents but both of them were avoiding her gaze. How much exactly were they keeping from her? Worse still, Shion couldn't help feeling a little grateful that they did. Was that wrong? Shouldn't she be feeling betrayed? But no matter how hard she tried to force the expected emotion, the simple fact that Shion _didn't_ want to know what damage her brother caused sunk any attempt. _It can't be worse than robbing banks, and they never tell me the ins and outs of that stuff._

"So, she isn't aware of Water Horse-" Akihara began.

"Eh? Water Horse? What's Water-" Shion attempted, but Hanako was already speaking over her.

"No."

"Ah," Akihara clicked. She was silent for a moment, frowning to herself as she processed this new information. "Can I ask why?"

"Because she looks up to her big brother, she used to follow him around like a little duckling when she was a kid. Can you blame us for not wanting to ruin that?" Hanako replied, completely unabashed.

Shion felt like they were having an entire conversation without her, something she would have traded her left arm for not a minute ago but was now finding increasingly frustrating. She still had no idea what the hell a 'Water Horse' was and its relevance to Hiroto, but then again, she got the sneaking suspicion that she didn't really want to hear the answer. Not with the grim importance Akihara had placed on the word.

"I can understand that, but surely you're doing more damage by trying to protect her from the truth."

Hanako shrugged and smiled blissfully. "Think what you like, Akihara-san~"

"And you allow her to meet Koyama Hiroto despite knowing he's involved in criminal activities?" Akihara asked, her voice hard.

"We wouldn't if we knew that's where she was going," Hanako pouted. "She usually tells us she's going on a bike ride, she does it often enough that I don't _interrogate_ her about it."

Akihara's attention swung back round to Shion. She found she actually _did_ enjoy it more when the woman was probing someone else instead. "Do you lie to your parents about where you're going, Koyama-chan?"

"Er… well," _no, not really. They don't ask, so I don't tell. I'm starting to notice a trend of that in this family._ "Yeah. Onii-san asks me to, and I just kinda assumed it was because him and Tou-san don't get on anymore."

"Look," Hiroto pushed his shoulders off the wall, largely ignoring the two other officers as they tensed again. "Me and Hana, we fucked up when we were younger, yeah? But we did our time. I don't want Shion or Kiku getting involved in any of that."

"'Kiku' meaning your ten-year-old daughter, Koyama Kiku?" Akihara clarified.

"Yeah, they're good kids. Whatever happened tonight, I'm telling you Hiroto probably dragged Shion into it," Hiroki replied, sounding as if he was daring anyone to say otherwise.

Akihara didn't verbally acknowledge Hiroki's speech, she just stared at Shion as she prepared herself for the next line of questioning. The red-head only broke her gaze when Hanako settled a steaming cup of tea in front of her.

"So, we know _how_ you arrived at the Diner, Koyama-chan and, from the reports Fuse-san handed over, we know the contents of the conversation between yourself and Koyama Hiroto," Akihara took a long sip of her tea. "Unfortunately, what I don't understand is _why_ you ran when Fuse-san revealed herself?"

 _This_ was the question Shion had been dreading. There was no conceivable way she could provide an _honest_ answer without sounding accusing. Massaging her forehead, she tried to search for an explanation that would satisfy, before realising that she didn't have one besides the truth. Whatever, Shion had never been able to replicate the verbal gymnastics of her mother and would only look like a bigger idiot if she tried.

"Look, I know I messed up, yeah? Okaa-san's already gave me an earful about it, but I just panicked, okay? Everyone was screaming, and this huge dog was coming at me, and didn't know where the hell Onii-san had gone and – I dunno, I just ran," Shion swallowed thickly. _Shit, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!_ "It's embarrassing to admit but…I was scared, y'know. I thought I'd end up like my parents or something."

There, she'd said it. Nothing she could do about it now. Shion sucked in a shaky breath. She could feel both of her parents watching her, but she didn't dare lift her eyes from the table.

"Is that something you worry about regularly, Koyama-chan?" Akihara asked softly.

 _Jeez, how the hell am I supposed to answer that with them both sitting right there?_

Shion was mercifully saved from inciting a possible third world war by Akihara's phone vibrating demandingly in the Detective's pocket. The red-head pulled out an ancient flip-phone, checked the number on top then (after a significant look with the two other officers) excused herself into the hallway.

No one dared say anything. One of the officers coughed once then immediately looked like he regretted it. Only Hanako looked like an untouched island of bliss in the sea of awkward tension, alternating between sipping at her tea and examining her nails. Shion sat there and waited for the invisible noose to tighten.

"Don't worry, Shion-chan. Mama's got this covered~"

Shion wasn't worried. Shion was past worried, and currently mired in a bog of deep regret. She wanted to crack her head against the tabletop, just so she could vent some of the thoughts fogging up her brain. Hiroto had gone mental. Her parents were hiding things from her. _She_ was surprisingly more okay with this than she _should_ be. And most importantly, she was in imminent danger of getting dragged off to the Police Station.

She was going to get kicked out of U.A., that was a near certain, though that might be for the best considering Shion hadn't wanted to go in the first place, but what other school would have her with a criminal record. What if _no one_ accepted her application? What the hell would she do then? What was this Water Horse thing everyone was skirting around? Would... would Hiroto have really _hurt_ someone down in the subway? Akihara had mentioned receiving Fuse's reports so presumably the Hero was okay and all the commuters had been evacuated, but what if they _hadn't_ have been? What if, in an alternate universe, the police response had been too slow, would he have adjusted his Quirk accordingly? _No, no, not thinking about that right now!_

Too much. Shion didn't even know where to begin.

Probably at most important question: why was she such a relentless idiot that she couldn't have just stayed at home and watched shit TV instead? None of this would have happened, she wouldn't even _need_ to be asking herself all those other questions. Thanks to that one mistake, Shion had potentially ruined the rest of her life. _Idiot, idiot, idiot!_ Shion didn't even want to be in the same _room_ as herself. But since that was an impossibility, she seriously contemplated smacking her head on the table again as punishment instead. Hopefully brain damage was a suitable excuse for being a total moron.

"I've just gotten off the phone with a Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa."

Shion almost jumped out of her chair at Akihara's sudden, disembodied announcement.

"I wasn't aware you were a student at U.A. Academy, Koyama-chan," the red-head scrutinised her from the doorway.

"Yeah?" Shion frowned, confused. _How did that change anything?_

Hanako looked a little smug, no doubt pleased that Akihara had discovered her trump card. Even the two police officers were seemed to be re-evaluating Shion. Only Hiroki looked as stumped as his daughter.

"Uh-huh, Detective Tsukauchi-san has informed me that All Might is willing to personally vouch for your character," Akihara smiled.

"He...what? He did? _"_ Shion was dimly aware that she was gaping like a fish, but hadn't the presence of mind to care. _"Why?_ "

"Clearly, the No. 1 Hero has some faith in you, Koyama-chan," Akihara clicked her teeth and smiled. "I'm to attend a meeting with Principal Nezu regarding this case tomorrow. No doubt they'll want to speak with you on Monday."

"And Fuse and the Canine Warriors?" Hanako inquired a little too innocently.

Shion was still reeling from her unexpected saviour to say much of _anything._ It was amazing what a glowing report from U.A. could do. Shion didn't know what Akihara had thought of her before the phone call, but she'd put good money on her impression being a hell of a lot better now. But why go to such lengths for _her?_ Maybe for Todoroki or Momo-hime, who came from Hero pedigree, but Shion was quite literally the opposite. What was U.A. getting out of this? Although they hadn't done anything shady by vouching for Shion and her actions, surely tonight would have proven that they were better off trying to distance themselves from her as much as possible?

Shion couldn't remember All Might singling her out in particular. Had it only taken Shion's obvious fretting about Midoriya's safety to secure All Might's support? That was kind of... endearing, stupid as hell but endearing.

How had Nezu known about the situation anyway? Was Shion under some kind of surveillance? Had Hanako contacted them? Was that who she was typing an EMail to earlier, and the reason behind her confidence throughout the interview? Had her mother filled her hand before the game even started? But how could her mother have been so sure that putting her chips behind U.A. would work out in their favour? _It's like being in Math class all over again, I feel like I'm only getting_ _half of what's going on here._

Akihara was visibly annoyed by the question but, ever the consummate professional, answered as politely as she could. "In light of this new information, the agency Fuse-san belongs to has agreed not to investigate the matter further and donate the payment needed for the damaged bus, on the condition that you all agree not to press charges-"

"Eh, hang on!" Hiroki blundered forward. "We could sue these guys?"

"Well, yes, technically Fuse-san injured a civilian. While she was perfectly within her rights regarding Hero Law on reasonable force on an escaping suspect, it'd damage their company image if it came to light that said suspect was a fifteen-year-old U.A. student and not a criminal accomplice," Akihara explained.

"So, we keep quiet, they keep quiet, and everyone walks away happy, hm?" Hanako smirked.

"Not entirely," Akihara answered with all the weight of a sledgehammer.

Calm and purposeful, the Detective moved to stand beside Shion's chair. Hesitantly Shion looked up at her but, upon seeing the unflinching stern expression, ducked her head towards the table.

"While the reasons behind your actions tonight may have been benevolent, Koyama-chan, you still _chose_ to break the Law," Akihara continued, her voice hard though not necessarily aggressive. "As a fifteen-year-old, you legally can _not_ be transferred to a Public Prosecutor, however, certain measures will be made to persuade you from this kind of behaviour in the future."

Shion gulped. _Here it comes: expulsion, Community Service, a public stoning or whatever._

"From today onwards you are prohibited from getting in contact with Koyama Hiroto-"

"But he's my broth-OW, Okaa-san!" Shion's instinctive protest was sharply cut off by Hanako digging her fake nails into the blonde's hand.

Akihara fixed her with a flat look and Shion dutifully kept her mouth closed, shame-faced as the Detective continued. "All phones and devices will be monitored, as will your journey to and from U.A., if he uses any other method to contact you, you are to call me immediately, understood Koyama-chan?"

At Shion's defeated nod, Akihara's expression softened considerably. "I know he's your brother but it's for the best; besides being a wanted criminal, he's also clearly a negative influence."

Shion wanted to protest that they just _couldn't_ restrict her from seeing her big brother like that, but they could and they had, and Shion got the distinct impression that she should be _grateful_ for the light sentence.

"You're also going to be required to attend mandatory Quirk Therapy sessions, to re-educate you on the dangers of using your Quirk in public. I'll leave the information with your mother," Akihara nodded her head towards Hanako.

"You'll need to complete your written statement regarding tonight's events with Sato-san and Tachibana-san," Akihara nodded to each of the officer's in turn. "We'll file an official report at the Police Station and sign the disclosure Agreement written up by Fuse-san's company tomorrow, but I feel satisfied leaving you until then." Akihara shifted backwards and Shion blinked.

What? That was it? They were leaving? The blonde jockeyed about in her seat, trying to make heads and tails of how everything could _suddenly_ be over - or _if_ everything was, in fact, suddenly over. Surely, her brain had skipped over some vital part of the conversation because Akihara couldn't just... just _leave_ like that.

But 'just leaving like that' Akihara was, already speaking softly into her police radio. The red head paused on the threshold.

"Off the record, Koyama Shion, you seem like a good kid. A little naive, yes, but your heart's in the right place. I don't _want_ there to be any more incidents like this, understand? For _your_ sake," Akihara stared intensely at Shion a moment longer, trying to fully convey the seriousness of the situation through sheer eye contact, before her mouth suddenly lifted into a friendly smile. "Well then, goodnight."


	13. Shion Koyama vs the Kawaii Factor

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

Thank you all so much for the reads, follows, favourites and the reviews! And special thanks to Company Cod who's been a massive help with hashing out some plot points with me, you of which plot points I speak ;)

Update: _Still_ not happy with this chapter, but I've tweaked it a bit anyway.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. the Kawaii Factor**

 **.**

 **"** **Or 'awkward idiot'.** **"**

 **\- Kyoka Jirou**

 **.**

When Shion awoke the next morning, the first thing she saw was an enraged midget wielding a pillow.

She managed a bleary, "Kiku-chan, what the hell…?"

Before the pillow came smacking down onto her face. _Repeatedly._ With a surprising amount of force behind it, too. Shion choked, scrambling madly to disengage herself from her duvet and simultaneously fend off the attack. Koyama Kiku, however, was merciless. Like a tiny Attila the Hun, she drove her older sister from the bed with a relentless barrage.

"Kiku-chan! Kiku, quit-" the pillow smacked her across the face, "-oof! Seriously, you're gonna knock my head-" Shion got a mouthful of flowery pillow case, "-ergh! Okaa-san, help! I'm being attacked by a rabid dwarf!"

"Shion-chan, play nice with your sister!" Hanako called up the stairs.

" _I'm_ not the one going medieval on someone's ass with a pillow -gah! Kiku-chan, seriously, chill out!"

Kiku paused her assault long enough for Shion to hope. A hesitant smile crossed the fifteen-year-old's face as she slowly lowered her arms – only to have the pillow lobbed at her unsuspecting face again.

" _ **Idiot**_ **,"** it had been so long since Kiku last spoke that Shion had forgotten what her little sister sounded like (pouty and strangely hoarse, for those who were curious).

Unfortunately, Kiku hadn't spoken for so long with good reason, a reason that Shion was immediately reminded of when she (and several items of furniture) were forcibly shoved back several paces. Kiku loomed over her, arms folded, red-faced and teary-eyed. Shion's stomach dropped.

"…Kiku-chan, are you-"

The ten-year-old stomped towards the bed, collected her tablet and rounded on Shion again.

" **What do you have to say for yourself?"** came the robotic voice of the tablet. When her older sister only blinked at her, Kiku raised a brow as if to say 'well?'

It would have been an impressive display… if Shion knew what Kiku's problem was. In fact, she was having significant trouble processing any of it - within seconds, she'd gone from wrapped up snugly in bed to having the wrath of Kiku rained down on her.

"Eh?"

" **Stop goofing around!"**

Clearly Kiku was very serious about…whatever the hell she was serious about and, as a result, would not be taking questions _or_ unsatisfactory answers. Shion was too exhausted to deal with any more insanity. Being clubbed around the head by her pint-sized sister was not encouraging patience and, after the shit show last night, Shion had very little to begin with. Still, she must have messed up pretty badly if Kiku was tearing up. Shion couldn't handle a crying Kiku, partly because it usually preceded a smack down but, honestly, the guilt alone was lethal.

"Jeez, Kiku-chan, I know I snore sometimes but there's no need to mercy kill me, y'know?" Shion chuckled, hoping to lighten the atmosphere.

The attempt failed somewhat spectacularly, since Kiku's only response was a swift kick to the gut. Shion choked and curled up into a ball. It wasn't hard enough to _really_ hurt anything except Shion's dignity, but that still didn't mean she appreciated getting the stuffing kicked out of her for no good reason. Irritation had impaired Shion's usual hesitation when it came to manhandling her little sister (or _anyone,_ really), and she surged forward, snagged the tiny avenger around the waist and promptly sat on her. Kiku struggled, kicking and thumping at her older sister's back for a while before finally going limp, huffing angrily.

"I'm gonna sit on you until you tell me why you were beating me like I owe you money," the blonde wheezed.

Kiku sulked, and Shion was too tired to deal with the prying open the human clam that was Koyama Kiku.

"C'mon, Kiku-chan…please?" she whined.

Kiku still sulked, expect this time she reached out for her tablet. After typing something, Kiku shoved the screen in the general direction of Shion's face, who had to bat it back slightly to avoid being blinded. At this point, Shion was hardly surprised to see the subject of the news report on screen. _Because of course it'd be the Subway._

Shion sighed. Where to even begin? Nowhere, preferably. She wasn't entirely sure herself what had happened last night (despite having to go over it repeatedly), so she had no hope of relaying it all to Kiku. In all honesty, Shion was sick to death of talking about it – and thinking about it, and hearing other people talk about it.

Hadn't she suffered enough yesterday? Clearly Kiku thought otherwise (or she was possessed, in which case Shion couldn't tell the difference between her little sister's normal behavior and that of an undead, malevolent spirit). Whatever had happened had happened, so couldn't everyone just drop it and move on? It'd be a hell of a lot easier on everyone if they pretended Saturday night didn't happen; at least Shion could have had a lie in without getting smacked about by an angry Oompa Loompa. Trying to distract from the topic at hand, Shion clicked out of the video feed and squinted at the unfamiliar user interface.

"'Hero Watch'…" the blonde read slowly, before turning to Kiku with a confused frown. "Why do you even have this App?"

Kiku snatched the tablet back, and finally managed to dislodge her older sister before eyeing her over the top with an accusing frown. A bit needlessly hostile, but that was Kiku.

"Okay, whatever, I don't want to know," Shion sighed.

The sisters sat in pregnant silence for a moment, both waiting for the other one to break it. Shion peeked across at the tablet still clutched to Kiku's chest before returning to staring at the motley of posters pasted over every available inch of her walls, back to the tablet then back to posters again. The cast of 'Ring 25: The Fourteenth Return of Sadako… and this Time it's Personal… Again' stared back at her with expressions ranging from horrified to almost comically blank. _Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask._

"So…" Shion wet her lips, "did it say if there were any, y'know, injuries and stuff?"

 _You just had to ask._

" **Only Fuse and the Canine Warriors."**

As awful as it was, Shion couldn't help feeling a wash of relief. No civilian causalities; not the screaming kids or their terrified parents or the few looks of blank resignation she'd seen crossing the faces of people who had the unavoidable misfortune of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. At least, Fuse was trained and prepared to _expect_ some sort of fallout. It hadn't looked good for the rookie Hero when Shion had left, but surely Fuse had pulled through somehow?

"Oh, and, er, how is she?" Shion asked hesitantly.

" **The only reason she's not dead is because Fourth Kind arrived as back-up,"** Kiku finished, glaring at her as Shion visibly flinched.

 _Ow._ Barring the physical pain of surviving an attack like that, the mental effects couldn't have been a walk in the park either. If the extent of the damage was that bad, then Fuse's Hero career was near enough over too.

Of all the assignments she could have taken, why did Fuse have to focus on Hiroto? None of them would have even _been_ in that situation if the rookie Hero hadn't tried to prove herself by reaching far beyond her means. But no, that wasn't fair. Fuse couldn't have known what would happen, just like Shion couldn't have known, and surely the young Hero had suffered enough for overestimating herself. _More_ than enough.

Shion thought of Fuse then, in a hospital bed somewhere, ashamed and in pain and watching all her years of effort slip uselessly through her fingers. Just thinking about it was making Shion nauseous, that awful, guilty kind that never settled right and you couldn't seem to choke up. Yeah, she had her issues with Heroes. And okay, she'd wished harm on Fuse when they were in the subway, but Shion hadn't wanted something like _that_ to happen to the young Hero – not really.

But what the hell could she do about it now, huh? What was _Kiku_ expecting her to do about it? If Shion had the power to take it all back, she would in a heartbeat. But she didn't, and she couldn't, and she hadn't even wanted this to happen anyway so why the hell was her little sister sitting there judging her. _Congratulations, Shion, you sound like a total asshole._ Shion groaned and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes, trying to ward off the impending headache. She just wanted to crawl back into bed and pretend none of this had even happened.

"Look, I know I messed up, okay? But it's all sorted now, so stop worrying about it," Shion smiled, desperately trying to stop Kiku from gnawing at herself with guilt or concern or whatever was going on inside that little pink head of hers.

Kiku, obviously, didn't buy such a transparent attempt. " **Until the next time Onii-san shows up."**

"There isn't going to _be_ a next time," Shion huffed. "The Police have forbidden contact and the phones are being monitored."

" **Good."**

Shion took a deep calming breathe. Then another one when the urge to hit something didn't immediately abate.

"Seriously, Kiku, _drop it._ I am _not_ talking about this right now."

" **Well, I want to."**

"Well, sometimes you don't get what you want, okay?" Shion was dangerously close to losing her cool.

Her head was throbbing like a broken ankle, conflicting thoughts and feelings smashing against one another like driftwood in a wreck. It was horrible what had happened to Fuse, and Shion felt shit about it. _But_ it wasn't her fault. _But_ neither could she blame Fuse because, Hero or not, she hadn't deserved _that._ Except this wasn't about assigning blame because it didn't matter how many times Shion's brain merry-go-rounded the problem, it wouldn't _solve_ anything. Then what the hell was it about? She didn't know and she didn't want to think about it, and Kiku just kept prodding and prodding and prodding like there'd be a satisfactory answer when Shion didn't have one.

"… **Like Fuse didn't get what she wanted."**

"Just GET LOST!"

The words were out of Shion's mouth before she'd even realised she'd opened it. For one glorious moment, it felt good to lash out, to vent the building frustration if only for a second of peace. But that brief gratification instantly curdled when she saw the hurt on Kiku's face.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Kiku-chan-"

Shion never got to finish. The ten-year-old had already shot up and fled the room.

Flopping spread-eagled onto her back, Shion stared dully up at the ceiling. She hadn't meant to upset Kiku. It was surprisingly easy to forget both Kiku's age and how sensitive her little sister _really_ was, when the ten-year-old was putting up a front all the time. Shion always hated it (and herself for a little while too) when she lost her temper. Hiroto had been an education in both how easy it was, and how much damage a moment of anger could cause. Look what happened every time he'd lost a game as a kid, look what happened last night…

No, last night hadn't been comparable to a frustrated twelve-year-old lashing out. Last night had been something else entirely. Shion shuddered, feeling vulnerable in the suddenly too big bedroom. She felt a little stupid glancing about for some invisible assailant, until her eyes rested on Kiku's abandoned tablet. Gingerly, Shion edged it towards where she lay and opened a search bar.

 **"Searching: Water…"**

Shion hesitated. 'Water Horse' was the third suggested search, just behind Water Pistols and Water Sports. This was Pandora's Box, the point of no return – once she'd read the results, there was no going back. Shion's finger hovered.

No, she wasn't going to look. Not because she was _scared_ of the answer, but because she _trusted_ Hiroto. Shion nodded to herself. She had to trust him, no one else seemed willing to and after everything he'd done for her, didn't he deserve her faith at least?

Unlike her father's accusations, Shion wasn't completely naïve. She knew Hiroto could be selfish, that he lost his temper too much and solved problems with his fists first because it had always been the easier solution for him. But whatever her older brother's faults, he wasn't _that_ murderous thing she'd caught a glimpse of in the subway. For twelve years of her life, Hiroto had been the person Shion was closest to, she _knew_ him and there was no way she wouldn't have noticed him becoming some sort of monster.

Besides, he'd come back for her, right? That _had_ to mean something. Admittedly, Hiroto had gotten them into that mess but he'd also protected her from it in the end, hadn't he? _Just like when we were kids._

Shion clicked on 'Water Pistols' instead, a strange, shaky rush sweeping through her as if she'd been released from paralysis.

"Shion-chan, what are you doing?"

Shion tilted her head back until she was looking at the upside-down image of her mother standing in the doorway.

"Huh? Oh, looking at water guns," she mumbled.

"Remember the police are monitoring your search history, so nothing too lewd, hm?" Hanako winked.

"What the hell, Okaa-san?" Shion was (understandably) horrified. "I'm not a pervert!"

Although she was kind of grateful for the heads-up. Not because she would look for anything pervy! Just for research stuff, and she wouldn't want the police to get the wrong idea if she _accidentally_ clicked on a link about topless lead singers, or ten kissing tips or something…

"I don't know what you get up to in your spare time~" Hanako pouted. "Anyway, it's time to get dressed, you still need to give your statement at five."

"But it's only...like, what? 10am?" Shion yawned, staring blearily at her closed blinds.

"It's 4:30."

"…Eh?"

"Oh, and your shoulder's bleeding again, Shion-chan."

"EH?"

/-/-/

Shion's parents seemed to be making a concentrated effort to apologise via smothering. Was she too hot? Too cold? What did she want to watch, want to do, want to eat? Was her shoulder hurting? Was there anything she wanted? Just say the word, Shion-chan, and they'd fetch it for her. And Shion was basking in it. She _really_ liked being pampered; and watching her parents trip over themselves in an effort to make amends was oddly gratifying. She was only human, after all.

Still, she would have found it a lot more enjoyable _if_ she wasn't so out of it. After filling out the police report, receiving information on her Quirk Therapy sessions and repeatedly trying to apologise to a sulking Kiku, Shion spent much of the afternoon wafting about the house listlessly. Nothing, it seemed, could hold her attention for more than a few minutes at a time before it started scattering again. All those errant thoughts found themselves always circling back to Saturday, edging cautiously about the subject, never approaching but never abandoning it either. It was beginning to piss Shion off.

Come Monday morning, a large part of Shion was looking forward to U.A., just so she'd have something to do _other_ than rattling around her own head. A much, _much_ larger part, however, was dreading it like the plague. She tried to pull a sickie then tried to deliberately miss her train when that failed, but her mother was oddly adamant on the subject. Which was weird, but Shion was too busy worrying about her _own_ behavior to question Hanako's.

Unfortunately, Shion had wasted so much time trying to weasel her way out of going that she hadn't been able to devote much time to her beauty regime - just a scant, slightly wonky application of eyeliner. She spent much of the train journey rooting through her bag for emergency concealer, and desperately trying to ignore the anxiety coiling like a nest of eels in her stomach.

What if she walked into the classroom and they all knew about Saturday? Logically, Shion couldn't see _how_ that was possible but logic had little sway over her nerves. What if she ended up as some social pariah? It would be unbearably shitty going through school friendless, but the fact that she'd actually come to _like_ the company of some of her classmates would only make it _more_ painful. She'd been looking forward to getting to know some of them better, had even entertained some (childish and embarrassing in hindsight) daydreams about her and Kyoka becoming best friends - concerts, jamming, watching movies and maybe even a few shopping trips.

All those budding friendships potentially gone, just like that.

As she trudged reluctantly from the train station to the school gates, Shion tried to envision what Hiroto would say in such a situation. Probably 'screw them, don't give two shits what they think of you.' Which was all well and good for Hiroto, who could get by on life without depending on other people, but Shion wasn't that strong. She wanted friends, she wanted her friends to like her, and most of all she didn't want to end up alone.

There had been two times in her life that Shion had felt truly lonely: when her Quirk had first developed and when their parents had been jailed. In both situations, Hiroto had been the one to reach out a hand, but what possible support could offer now? She couldn't even contact him.

Being ostracised at U.A. wouldn't be as bad as back then, but it wouldn't be much fun either. Maybe she was overreacting? Considering how Hero obsessed her class was, they'd probably _heard_ about the incident on the news, but would they have any reason to make the mental leap that Shion was involved? There had to be people outside her immediate family with muscle-based Quirks - look at Mic-sensei's Voice Augmented Quirk, Shion was relatively sure he and Hanako weren't related...well, she definitely _hoped_ they weren't.

Yeah, when she really thought about it, it'd be kind of ridiculous to assume that Koyama Shion (fellow Hero wannabe as far as her classmates were aware) was somehow part of an unsuccessful sting operation that had resulted in the destruction of a subway station and the hospitalisation of one professional Hero. Hiroto's real _name_ wasn't even publicised, and there was no reason to believe that he'd chosen to stop off at Fukuoka for personal reasons. Yeah, she just needed to calm down. Shion sucked in a deep, bolstering breath, before stepping across the threshold of the gates and making her way towards Class 1A.

She'd been expecting sudden silence and accusing stares the moment she walked into the classroom, so Shion was understandably a little shaken to see that no one even bothered looking at her twice. At that moment, the chatter of uninterrupted conversation was the most wonderful noise in the world to Shion. Through some sheer miracle, no one knew.

She must have looked a little too relieved and bug-eyed when Kyoka spotted her, because the shorter girl's small, relaxed smile instantly morphed into a frown.

"Yo, Jirou-chan!"

"…Hey, Koyama-chan," Kyoka voiced uncertainly, as Shion took her seat at the adjoining desk.

Shion was dimly aware that she was grinning like an idiot but she didn't care. She'd gotten away with it! She didn't know or care how, all that mattered was the absence of an angry mob greeting her at the gates.

" _So_ , uh…good weekend, I'm guessing?" Kyoka was still eyeing the blonde suspiciously, noting the uncharacteristic lack of beauty products and general air of mania.

"Er, you could say that I guess," Shion chuckled awkwardly. "What about you? How was your weekend?"

"Er, yeah, it was okay."

"Great! That's really great! Holy shit, there's a lot of people in here, huh?"

Kyoka glanced about leisurely. "There's the same number of people in here as there always is."

"Oh? Heh. Maybe Iida-kun's been chubbing up then, y'know, because it _definitely_ seems fuller to me!" Shion chuckled and fidgeted on her seat.

" _Right,"_ Kyoka raised a brow. "Did someone drop you on your head this morning or something?"

 _Shit, she knows! Play it cool, Shion, play it cool! Don't lose your head!_

"Eh? Why would you even – now _come on,_ Jirou-chan, don't be a silly sausage," Shion chuckled and reached into her bag for her water bottle.

Hopefully, a few sips would give her enough time to formulate a reply that didn't involve the words 'silly' or 'sausage'. Instead, Shion's hands were shaking so much from nerves that she ended up dribbling most of the water down the front of her shirt with a 'bleh' and a wobbly smile. _I…I don't even know what to say to you anymore._

"Urgh, seriously what is up with you today," Kyoka muttered. The dark-haired girl wasn't completely unsympathetic, however, reaching into her own bag for some tissues and helping to mop up the overspill on Shion's desk.

"I'm sorry," Shion mumbled, shame-faced.

"Whatever, it's fine."

"I'm...I'm just a little tired, y'know," the blonde yawned for extra-emphasis.

Kyoka lifted her head to search Shion's face with dark eyes. It was nerve-wracking to be under such obvious and unabashed scrutiny. Shion tried not to fidget, even played up the wounded puppy look a little in hopes that the shorter girl might take pity on her.

Eventually Kyoka flicked her eyes away with a snort, leaning forward to rest her narrow chin on the arms crossed over her desk, "yeah, no shit."

Shion breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Clearly the Gods were on her side today.

"Sometimes, I feel like your mother," Kyoka smirked.

"I _wish_ you were my mother," Shion mumbled.

"...I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."

"Yeah. Probably for the best."

Shion's next question was interrupted by a rather frantic-looking Kirishima Eijirou bolting towards his desk, before throwing himself into his seat hard enough that it rocked on its back legs. The two girls watched the panicked display with differing levels of curiosity, as Eijirou struggled to simultaneously untangle his foot from his backpack strap and scan the classroom like a hunted animal.

"I'm not late, right?" Eijirou panted, looking moments away from shaking an answer out of somebody.

"Nope," Kyoka replied.

"Nah, you're good!" Shion flashed him a thumbs-up and a reassuring grin.

"Thank you!" Eijirou exhaled heavily with palatable relief, tears gathering in his closed eyes as he brandished a fist to the heavens – a moving display of manly gratitude if Shion ever saw one.

"The chain broke on my bike, I had to sprint to the station with it on my back!" Eijirou explained.

"Bummer," Kyoka had clearly lost all interest with the conversation and pulled out her phone.

"But it wasn't a big deal, kind of like a training exercise now that I think about it," Eijirou laughed, undaunted by Kyoka's obvious dismissal.

"How can you be so positive?" Shion couldn't help grinning in the face of Eijirou's sincere expression. "If that happened to me, I'd probably curl up like a dried-up slug or something, and start sobbing on the side of the road, y'know."

"What? You're being pretty harsh on yourself, Koyama-chan! I think you could definitely run around with a bike on your back!" Eijirou patted her on said back in a display of comradery.

"You really think so?"

"I guarantee it!" Eijirou nodded empathetically, rousing grin in place. Shion could almost imagine a Japanese flag billowing patriotically in the background.

Odd as it was, Shion was moved. _Why did Class 1A – well,_ most _of Class 1A have to be so nice?_ Honestly, Shion couldn't remember ever having seen such a large collection of genuinely nice teenagers. Maybe U.A. just attracted the do-gooder type? Although, she had to wonder if she would have received such stirring encouragement if the truth _had_ come out this morning. She doubted it.

As much as she was warming up to particular classmates, it would only take the stray comment about doling out some justice and Shion would yanked back into reality again. Right now was fine - she could share lunch with her classmates, share jokes with her classmates or the little annoyances of day to day life. But twenty years on, and they would no longer _be_ Shion's classmates, they'd be just some other caped asshole. _Well, that's in twenty years, so there's nothing wrong with enjoying the here and now, right?_

"-Tried to do the whole 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats everyday thing but I almost made myself puke."

Shion gradually returned to the land of the living, only to realise that Eijirou had been animatedly chatting away to her the entire time. _Shit, now I feel guilty._

"Er, sorry, zoned out a second there," Shion interrupted.

"Huh?" Eijirou blinked then immediately grinned good-naturedly. "No worries, I was just talking about my training routines before we joined U.A…some of it was pretty brutal. Man, thinking about it now I must have almost given my parents a heart-attack! What about you, Koyama-chan?"

"I went jogging with Okaa-san a couple of times," Shion shrugged, baffled as to why _anyone willingly_ would put themselves through such torture.

"You _must_ have done more than that…" Eijirou sounded a little despondent with her answer.

"Well, I ride my bike sometimes too but that's about it," Shion shrugged. "I just never really felt the need, y'know."

"Yeah, with a Quirk like yours this stuff probably comes naturally, huh?" there was an bleak undercurrent in Eijirou's voice as he said, though the red-head was clearly trying his best to hide it. However, Eijirou was _not_ a natural liar and it showed.

 _Damn it, Kirishima-kun, don't tug on my heartstrings like that!_

"Eh, I dunno, I think it's way more impressive to put the work in than just being naturally good at something," Shion resisted the urge to wince at her own heavy-handed attempt to cheer him up. "Right, Jirou-chan?"

"You need both. There's no point training if you're just not cut out for it, but it doesn't matter how good you are if you aren't willing to work for it," Kyoka shrugged.

As cool as that sounded and as much as Shion privately agreed with her, the blonde could feel her eyes bugging out at the shorter girl's lack of tact. It had never _really_ bothered Shion (okay, it had bugged her sometimes...a little), but Kyoka was really sabotaging the main objective here.

"Hahaha... I-I think what Jirou-chan means is-" Shion flapped.

"Nah, I get it. There's no point having a good Quirk if you can't use it, and some Quirks just aren't suited to being a Hero, right?" Eijirou grinned. "That was pretty cool, Jirou-chan!"

"Don't you start too, I've already got my hands full with one idiot," Kyoka rolled her eyes.

Shion and Eijirou laughed, which only seemed to embarrass Kyoka. Shion wondered how the hell someone like Eijirou, who could so effortlessly get along with everyone, could have such a low opinion of himself? Hardening wasn't a useless Quirk by any means, yet much of the red-head's opinion of himself was based on how other people (or, more accurately, how he _imagined_ other people) would perceive his Quirk. Despite society as a whole being rather obsessed with Quirks, feeling like hers wasn't enough wasn't a problem that Shion had personally encountered. If anything, it had always been the opposite - Muscle Augmentation had felt like too _much_ for the people around her.

Still, she sympathised with Eijirou. It must have taken some real courage for him to apply to U.A., when he had such doubts about his Quirk. She wished she could have vocalised her newfound respect without it coming out as weird babble, but Shion doubted her ability to vocalise _anything_ without it coming out awkward. Which was great for jokes, less so when it came to vulnerable conversation. It was safer to just stick to her lane. She knew where she was with armpit farts.

"Hey, what about you, Bakugou-kun? I bet you had a serious training routine going on, huh?" the red-head noticeably perked up as he attempted to drag Bakugou into the conversation next. Predictably, Bakugou was having none of it.

With his feet crossed on his desk and his chair tilted back far enough to laugh in the face of gravity, Bakugou tilted his head to side-eye his receptive audience (minus a disinterested Kyoka, of course), lip curled with contempt.

"What's it to you?" Bakugou eyed the duo like they were turds on a public footpath.

"Come on man, no need to be so hostile," Eijirou sighed.

In that regard, Shion agreed with Eijirou completely. She didn't know why Bakugou felt the urge to take an angry dump on every single attempt at kindness, but it was especially frustrating when Eijirou determinedly kept trying to involve the furious blonde.

"Dude, don't take this the wrong way," Shion began, sincerely unaware that any statement beginning with 'don't take this the wrong way' was almost _guaranteed_ to be taken the wrong way, "but you seriously need to get some more fiber in your diet if your normal expression is constipated rage."

It was worthwhile to hear Kyoka's snorted laughter, even if Bakugou appeared to be on the verge of going nuclear. Just before Shion became a bloodstain decorating the classroom walls, an unlikely hero appeared in the form of Iida Tenya. Until that moment, the bespectacled boy had been circuiting the classroom like a naval officer patrolling his waters, before zeroing in Bakugou's disregard for appropriate conduct. Iida coughed pointedly at Bakugou's shoes still resting on his desk.

"Bakugou-san, could you please remove your feet from your desk!" Iida commanded when the cough went ignored.

"Fuck off, four-eyes," Bakugou growled.

Only Iida seemed surprised by the response. Still, Shion felt a little sorry for the guy. Iida was so obviously proud of his new appointment and only trying to uphold his responsibilities - perhaps a little over-zealously which was annoying at times, but you couldn't blame him for trying to give it his all.

Trying to avoid the brewing argument, Shion raised a hand and grinned, "yo, Megane-kun!"

"Ah, Koyama-san," Iida's expression changed instantly from disapproving school mistress to welcoming host. "Good morning! Though I do request that you refrain from calling me that."

"Oh yeah, shit, sorry," Shion shrugged.

"And from swearing in school premises," Iida added.

Shion quickly reined in her urge to reply with another curse. _Yeah, definitely annoying at times._

"How are you all this morning?" Iida circled round to Shion, Kyoka and Eijirou's row with an air of ceremony. Shion could almost imagine he had a list of duties somewhere which included 'dispense pleasantries with fellow classmates'.

She wasn't sure how to answer. Relief had put her in a considerably better mood, but she doubted she could share that without any leading questions. Best to draw attention away from herself all together. Shion really wished Kyoka would re-join the conversation again, but the purple-haired girl was perfectly content browsing on her phone and occasionally listening. It was a pattern Shion had noticed previously; how Kyoka seemed to withdraw from conversation when more people were involved, only choosing to input when she felt like it. _Definitely more of a listener than a talker… which is probably a good thing considering I never seem to shut up._

"Er, well, Kirishima-kun carried his bike on his back so he wouldn't be late for class," Shion supplied instead.

"A commendable attitude! I'm impressed, Kirishima-san!" Iida beamed.

Eijirou blushed slightly at the praise, reaching back to rub at his neck, "thanks, but it wasn't a big deal..."

"Nonsense," Iida wafted his hand, before striking it again. "Praise should be given where it's due! If only _others_ would follow your example, Kirishima-san."

It didn't take three guesses who Iida was referring to with that comment. Eijirou and Shion cast wary glances towards Bakugou's hunched shoulders. _Maybe Bakugou should come equipped with a warning siren on top of his head._

"And I see you haven't brought in any snacks today, Koyama-san," Iida beamed like a proud parent.

Shion hadn't brought any snacks because she hadn't had the time to _pack_ any snacks, but she wasn't about to enlighten Iida on the subject.

"Well, in some readings the Kanji of Shion can be read as 'beefy teenager, considerate of snack rules,' y'know," Shion winked, leaning back in her seat.

"Or 'awkward idiot,'" Kyoka smirked without lifting her eyes from her phone.

"Oi! Don't slander my good name!" Shion laughed, incredibly pleased somehow that she'd managed to coax Kyoka back into the conversation.

"You're both incorrect, I'm afraid. Your grammar, in particular, was atrocious, Koyama-chan. Good effort, regardless!" overcome with pride over his seemingly reformed classmates, Iida clamped a hand down on Shion's shoulder.

Unfortunately, it happened to be Shion's _injured_ shoulder.

The initial shriek of pain had both Eijirou and Kyoka jumping in their seats - even Bakugou whipped his head around before promptly remembering that they were all below his interest. The pain was so sudden and intense, Shion could feel actual _tears_ in her eyes. She clamped down on her bottom lip _hard,_ trying to stoically ride out the ensuing after quakes of radiating pain as it rippled down her back and arm. Raising a hand to her shoulder instinctively, she let it hover there while her feet drummed at the floor underneath her seat – desperate to cradle the wounded area but too frightened to touch it.

"Koyama-chan, are you okay?" Kyoka crouched beside her chair, frown both serious and surprisingly concerned. Which would have made Shion expire with happiness if her shoulder _hadn't_ been bleeding through her school shirt.

Shion nodded a little frantically, face-red, eyes still teary and bottom lip clenched between her teeth.

"I-I'm so sorry, Koyama-san! Please accept my apologies-"

"Not now," Kyoka's scowl was scathing enough to stop Iida mid-bow.

"Right. You're completely right, Jirou-san," Iida nodded to himself, before straightening to address the classroom as a whole. "Does anyone know where the nurses' office is? We need to escort Koyama-san there immediately!"

"I-I know where it is!" Midoriya was out his seat and gently helping Shion from her chair in the blink of an eye, careful not to jostle her injured shoulder as he did so.

Iida directed them towards the door, clearing the way like some bespectacled snow plow before informing them (once again) that he was very, _very_ sorry, he took full responsibility and would notify Aizawa-sensei about her absence. Shion caught one last glimpse of the classroom - Kyoka and Eijirou's worried expressions, Todoroki's steady, evaluating gaze - before she and Midoriya were hobbling off down the corridor.

It was awkward going as Midoriya was quite a few inches shorter than Shion and so obviously nervous about touching her in any way that might make her uncomfortable. Honestly, Shion wouldn't have cared if the green-haired boy picked her up and threw her towards the nurse's office like a javelin as long as it got her there faster.

They passed a few latecomers dashing towards their homerooms, but the halls were otherwise empty. Midoriya's continued stream of maternal concern filled the silence. Shion felt a little bad about it, considering how earnest the guy was, but his fretting and fussing was kind of amusing. If it had been nearly anyone else, Shion would have probably indulged the urge to curry a little sympathy but Midoriya was already tying himself up in knots without any further encouragement. _Poor guy._ Once again, she hoped his bleeding heart wouldn't get him in trouble some day.

"Seriously, Midoriya-kun, I'm fine," Shion grinned, barely resisting the urge to pat his mop of curly green hair. "Well, mostly fine...my arm's not gonna suddenly drop off or anything."

Which was true. It still hurt like hell but now that she was braced for it, her shoulder was more of an annoying throb than a bright burst of pain.

"Are you sure? B-but you're bleeding, and-" the rest of his sentence was lost in anxious muttering.

"Eh? I didn't catch a word of that," Shion blinked.

"N-nothing, it's nothing," Midoriya blushed and scratched his cheek, upon realising he'd been muttering. "Sorry, it's kind of a bad habit of mine."

He looked so dejected that Shion could almost _feel_ her heart turn to mush.

" _C_ _hill,_ Midoriya-kun," Shion chuckled. "You shouldn't beat yourself up so much about stuff, y'know. Learn to let things go a little, yeah?"

"You're probably right," Midoriya sighed, glancing up at her with a shy smile.

"...Seriously you're gonna have to cut it out with that cute stuff, or I'm gonna be forced to squidge your cheeks," Shion intoned gravely.

"Wh-what!?" Midoriya spluttered.

"I'm just saying," Shion shrugged, winced, then immediately decided that shrugging probably wasn't wise right now. "Proceed with caution, yeah? Kawaii at your own risk."

Shion allowed Midoriya to process that forbidding omen in silence, occupying herself with peering into classroom windows. She gave a little wink and a thumbs-up to the big-lipped guy in the General Department class, who immediately spluttered with visible rage.

"We're almost there now, Koyama-san."

"Nice!" Shion grinned. "How come you know where the nurse's office is, anyway?"

"Oh, um...I tend to get injured a lot," Midoriya ducked his head.

Shion frowned, thoughts jumping back to the beating Bakugou had given him, and opened her mouth to reply.

"B-but I'm fine!" reading the blonde's expression, Midoriya rushed to reassure her. "Honestly, I'm okay!"

"I dunno, Midoriya-kun..."

"Please don't worry about me, I promise I'm fine," Midoriya smiled.

 _Urgh._ Shion already knew what was about to come out of her mouth, and she was already dreading it.

"Look, I get it. We both fight with our fists so you're going to get hit at _some_ point - it's unavoidable - but...w-what I'm trying to say is that if you're seriously stuck, don't worry about bothering me by asking for help, yeah?"

Midoriya looked ready to argue again so Shion rushed to cut across him, determined to just get it out while she still had momentum, "no, seriously. I've got a few layers of Augmented Muscle as padding, so don't worry about it."

Shion had been worried that it had been a little _too_ cheesy, a little _too_ vulnerable, but Midoriya looked so moved by her offer that Shion was finding it hard to look him in the eyes for an entirely different reason.

"And, er, that's all I wanted to say...about that stuff."

"Thank you, Koyama-san, that, um - that really means a lot. And the same goes from you, if you ever need my help!"

Midoriya had the kind of smile that made you want to grin back, regardless of the situation or your current mood. Kiku smiled like that, on the rare occasions she _did_ smile - a comparison that reassured Shion that maybe she'd done the right thing for the first time in 48 hours. _Shit, now I'm tearing up again._

"Alright, so this is getting _way_ too sappy," Shion laughed awkwardly. "I better head in before I bleed out or something, y'know. See you later, Midoriya-kun!"

"Are you sure?" even Midoriya's freckles wrinkled with concern.

"Yeah, yeah! It's cool!" Shion grinned until he hesitantly started back down the corridor, repeatedly checking over his shoulder that she was okay.

Now alone, Shion's thoughts returned to her earlier worries about being shunned by her classmates. This morning had only made her realise exactly _how_ hurt she would be by their rejection, it was easier to forget how much she enjoyed being around them when she wasn't in their immediate company.

 _Stupid Class 1A, making me like them._


	14. Shion Koyama vs Eau du Whey

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

Thank you all so much for all the reviews, follows and favourites :D Honestly, it still shocks me a little when I remember thinking that no one would ever be interested in this!

And special thanks to Company Cod, whose been a MASSIVE help :)

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Eau du Whey**

 **.**

 **"I know class when I see it."**

 **\- Denki Kaminari**

 **.**

U.A.'s school nurse was tiny and adorable. Shion had always had a soft spot for kids and old people, but Recovery Girl's grandmotherly doting would have endeared her to the blonde even if she hadn't. Recovery Girl had Shion's old bandages unwrapped, the wound treated, and clean bandages reapplied in the matter of minutes. Shion was a little bewildered by it all. The old woman barely came up to her waist and hobbled about precariously, but there was an undeniable strength to her. It was impossible _not_ to hand yourself over to her care, purely because the old woman seemed so capable – even managing to dig up a spare school shirt in Shion's size.

Honestly, Shion would have spent all morning in there if she'd thought she could have gotten away with it. Eventually though, she'd been turfed out with a handful of Haribo and instructions to rest her shoulder over the next two days.

If the prospect of double maths wasn't bad enough; Shion had returned from the nurse's office to find her usual spot next to Kyoka had been cruelly besieged by a massive ponytail and the tiny, frustratingly pretty head attached to it. _Stupid Momo-hime. Damn homewrecker, stealing my spot as soon as my backs turned._

Worse still, Kyoka actually looked like she was _enjoying_ Momo's company – for some unfathomable reason. What were they even talking about over there, huh? Was Momo just reciting the dictionary backwards for Kyoka, because Shion couldn't imagine the taller teen having anything actually _amusing_ to say. Unless Momo was actually funnier than Shion - not a difficult task but so far the only way Shion had managed to keep Kyoka's interest was by making her laugh. If Momo was superior to her in that respect too, then the blonde didn't have a chance in hell.

"Er, Koyama-chan, are you okay?"

Shion blinked back at her temporary desk neighbour. Uraraka Ochako was possibly the sweetest person Shion had ever met; practically sunshine and puppies personified. Thus far, Shion had had very little to do with Ochako – not because she _disliked_ the girl or anything, but Ochako generally hung around with Iida and Midoriya, and Shion had generally been trying to avoid the Class President so she wasn't apprehended again.

Shion didn't have time to answer in any case, because Ochako's head was whipping between the blonde's bewildered stare and the subject of her ire with alarming speed.

"Because you've been silently glaring at them for a while now," Ochako peeked at Shion's exercise book. "And you've been drawing devil horns and buck teeth all over that stick figure."

"Hah, silently glaring? You've got me all wrong, Uraraka-chan! I'm cool as a cucumber," Shion tried to smile charmingly at the brunette. 'Tried' being the imperative word here.

"Okay!" Ochako beamed, clasping the tips of her fingers together. Whether or not she actually believed Shion though was a mystery. For someone so extroverted, Ochako could be surprisingly secretive.

"Though I'm glad you seem all better now, Iida-kun was really working himself up thinking he'd hurt you," Ochako added sincerely.

 _Great, now I feel bad…_

"Ah yeah, I feel pretty shitty about that. Honestly, it was an accident, y'know, he doesn't have to beat himself up about it."

"Yeah, but you try telling Iida-kun that," Ochako sighed. "How did it happen, anyway?"

Shion fidgeted under the compelling power of Ochako's puppy-dog eyes. _Please stop looking at me like that._ Shion had already repeatedly proven to be about as effective under pressure as wet cardboard, and now was no exception. She could _feel_ herself giving way, half-way tempted to erect a shield or throw her arms over her face, just so she could escape Ochako's gaze.

"How did what happen?" Shion chuckled nervously, hoping to buy some time.

"Your cut, it must have been pretty nasty to start bleeding like that," Ochako frowned sympathetically.

"Well, I, er, fell down the stairs-"

Ochako winced. Shion belatedly realised that that excuse would explain bruises, not bite marks.

"-and right into a bear trap," the blonde finished.

"…A bear trap?" Ochako's eyebrows scrunched with confusion. The brunette tilted her head a little, and the puppy dog comparison was complete. _Shit, I'm doomed!_

"I was pretty surprised too! Hahahaha..."

 _What are you doing, you've been laughing for way to long! Don't just stop suddenly, now you look even more batshit crazy!_ Looking suitably shifty, Shion's mind whirred about for an abrupt change of topic. After darting about the classroom for a good minute, her eyes eventually fell on the baby-pink pencil case on Ochako's desk.

"Is that a Springtime of our Youth pencil case?"

"Huh?" Ochako's eyes _finally_ released their hold long enough to see what Shion was gesturing to. "Oh yeah, do you watch that show?"

The show in question was a formulated, hammy TV Drama revolving around a group of girls on their path to find love. It was _not_ something Shion could openly admit to enjoying, and still hope to keep what little school cred she had. And yet, Shion did enjoy it – _a lot._ Her favourite storyline in particular had involved a Yankee girl whose quest for vengeance was side-tracked by a quiet art student, who later turned out to be a ghost of the Yankee's target's brother– and that was one of the less convoluted storylines!

"Holy shit, are you kidding? I love – I mean _my mom_ loves that show? Who's your favourite character?"

"Umm, that's a toughie since I pretty much love them all, _but…_ probably Shimizu-kun."

"That pinhead?" Shion scoffed. "No way, he's constantly getting everyone in trouble, dude's got the IQ of a rock!"

"But he's really nice!" Ochako protested. _"And_ he kicks ass in a fight!"

Although Shion very much disagreed with that statement (apart from the ass-kicking, Shimizu did genuinely kick ass), she didn't want to cause an argument by being so blatant about it. Besides, Ochako had been kind enough to drop the earlier subject when she noticed Shion becoming visibly uncomfortable, and Shion _guessed_ the brunette kind of had a point. _Though not really_. In truth it boiled down to one question: was it really worth making a fuss over? To Shion, the answer was almost exclusively 'no'. But she was especially reluctant to protest, when gushing about cheesy TV Dramas offered a respite from the lingering paranoia

"What about you, Koyama-chan, who's your favourite?" Ochako asked while propping her head up on her fist, the very picture of interest.

"Erm...it kinda changes each week, but probably Tetsuo-kun-"

"Ah, seriously!" The brunette cheering, eyes wide with shock and delight, before adding in a more classroom friendly tone, "he's so shy and quiet, I didn't think he'd be your type _at all_."

"Y-yeah, well, y'know, it's not..." with one question, the human being previously known as Koyama Shion had dissolved into a blushing, stuttering mess.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Ochako winked

"I'm trying to get Iida-kun to give it a go, but he's proving a tough nut to crack!" Ochako chattered on happily, even brandishing her little fist with determination. "I'll get him eventually though! Maybe I'll tell him it's research? That's not technically lying, right?"

Shion laughed. The thought of straight-laced Iida snuggled up in his jammies and bawling his eyes out over a mushy, teen drama was too much. For a moment, Ochako shot her a pleased look, as if getting Shion to crack up had been the brunette's true agenda all along.

/-/-/

When the lunch bell rang, Shion made a beeline for Kyoka with all the tact and patience of a rampaging bull. Even Kyoka looked a little taken back as the grinning blonde seemed to materialise at her side, pointedly ignoring an alarmed Momo.

"Yo, Jirou-chan!"

In retrospect, maybe she _had_ come on a little too strong? She didn't want to put Kyoka off by appearing over-eager, but on the same hand she couldn't just sit there and let Momo monopolise the first person Shion had _really_ wanted to be friends with. If the near misses from this morning had achieved anything (well, anything _besides_ elevating Shion's blood pressure), it had really hammered home how fragile Shion's reputation in class was. If the bite mark had been seen through her shirt, if Ochako hadn't dropped the subject, if someone else had asked, if, if, if – Shion's identity hinged on ifs.

Before Saturday, Shion would have still been unnerved by Momo's encroaching presence, but that sense of urgency had definitely taken a boost over the past 24 hours. It was becoming increasingly clear to Shion that she was operating on borrowed time, and she wanted to enjoy what little she had before she was kicked out or chased off by an angry mob. A task that would be impossible, if Kyoka ditched her for stupid Momo-hime - _before_ she inevitably ditched Shion for coming from a Villain background, anyway. _Urgh, s_ _top thinking about it._

"Ah, hey, Koyama-chan. Your arm okay?"

"Eh? _Oh,_ that, yeah, it's cool," Shion waved off the shorter girl's concern. "You ready to get lunch?"

"If I said no, you'd probably drag me there anyway," Kyoka smirked, slinging her bag over her shoulder before turning to Momo. "Are you coming too, Yaoyorozu-chan?"

Yaoyorozu- _chan!_ Shion's mouth almost dropped open. _What devilry is this!_ In the space of a single lesson, Momo had been promoted to friend! And Shion knew from experience, that Jirou Kyoka's friendship was not earned so easily. Momo cast an apprehensive glance towards the blonde shooting her death looks over Kyoka's shoulder.

"Well, I wouldn't want to intrude…"

"Hm," Kyoka leaned back slightly so she could follow Momo's line of sight. Shion tried to look completely innocent. It wasn't a very convincing attempt, if Kyoka's narrow-eyed look was any indication.

"Your choice, Yaoyorozu-chan," Kyoka shrugged. "See you later, okay?"

Shion tried not to beam too obviously about her minor triumph, curbing the sudden urge to start whistling to herself as she and Kyoka set off. They made it precisely five steps before Kyoka's question ground them to a halt again.

"So, what's your deal with Yaoyorozu-chan, anyway?" the short-haired girl's tone was casual enough that the blonde almost missed the question completely.

Shion nearly tripped over herself, completely thrown off balance by both the precision and bluntness of Kyoka's question. "Eh? What're you talking about?"

"C'mon, Koyama-chan, you're about as subtle as Mic-sensei," Kyoka huffed.

Shion's offended gasp was audible. And completely justified... and probably didn't need to be highlighted by Shion gasping the word 'gasp' afterwards.

" _So?"_ Kyoka raised a brow.

"I don't have a problem with Yaoyorozu-san," Shion laughed at Kyoka's skepticism. "Seriously, I don't!"

"Why were you glaring at her then?"

Shion sighed. Kyoka was like a bloodhound when she was after something! It was kind of impressive, and a whole lot terrifying.

"Was I? I dunno. I, er...had something in my eye?" acting unaware seemed to be the right answer, since Kyoka's tension visibly eased.

"It's called an eyeball," Kyoka snarked, before doing a double-take. "And why did you phrase that like a question?"

"Because the only thing I'm sure about in this life, Jirou-chan..." pause for dramatic flourish, "...is _you_ ~"

"No, just... _no_ ," Kyoka snorted, idly slapping at the blonde's arm.

"Oi! You can't hit a cripple!" Shion whined. A comment that received a few horrified looks from passing students.

"Well it's that or I get one of those water sprayers they train dogs with," Kyoka smirked.

"Eh? You're joking right?"

"Probably not," Kyoka shrugged.

Shion laughed aloud at that.

"You know why I enjoy your company, Jirou-chan? The relentless stream of insults. People usually have to pay for stuff like that, y'know."

"You'd still probably get them for free."

"Right!" Shion was grinning widely by now, partly relieved that she'd dodged a bullet with the Momo question but mostly because she really did find Kyoka's quick-fire comebacks remarks funny.

The pair eventually made it to the Lunch Hall, which was seemed to be calming down after the immediate rush. Unfortunately, this also meant that every table was taken. Kyoka and Shion dithered about for a moment before they were heralded by a familiar pink arm and bubbly voice.

"Heeey, Shion-chan! Over here!"

Class 1A hadn't even finished its first term yet, and already it was splintering into smaller social groups. The more confident and outgoing members, such as Mina, Kaminari and Eijirou, tended to flit between any willing (and unwilling in some cases) recipient, acting as the epicenter of a social hub that involved the majority of the class. There was Iida, Midoriya and Ochako who were open to others but generally formed their own little social circle. The shyer or more insular classmates, such as Koji, Fumikage and Mezo, had banded together out of understanding. Then there were the two classmates that were both uninterested and unbothered by the existence of other friendship groups: Todoroki and Bakugou.

Shion wondered what category Kyoka would fall under, if she hadn't been swept up in Shion's need to mingle. _She'd p_ _robably eat in the classroom with Momo._ Kyoka certainly didn't seem the type of person to put herself out there - in fact, now that Shion thought about it, she'd done most of the initial work in their friendship. If Kyoka really _didn't_ enjoy hanging out with Mina, Eijirou and the others on those rare occasions, she just wouldn't do it - Jirou Kyoka was pretty straightforward like that. By introducing her to people and interactions that she might have otherwise avoided, didn't that make Shion a good friend? It couldn't be a _bad_ thing, at any rate; and probably not something Momo would have been able to offer.

It was an appealing thought. In fact, it felt pretty damn good! And maybe - just maybe if Shion was a good friend, Class 1A wouldn't be so quick to dismiss her should/when the truth came out. _Idiot, a couple of jokes isn't going to just erase fifteen years of prejudice!_ It was a stupid thought, and one Shion didn't dare entertain for too long. But it _had_ existed, even if it was only for a second.

"Yo, Mina-chan!" Shion grinned to herself as she jogged towards the group, Kyoka in tow.

No sooner had the blonde wedged herself onto the bench, Mina was leaning across to eye up her tray curiously, "what did you get?"

"The Anpan was on sale so-"

"She got four of them," Kyoka finished flatly. "Seriously, how the hell do you eat so much?"

"Pure skill," Shion grinned and flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Ooh, can I have one?" Mina asked, already reaching out to snag one of the goodies off Shion's tray.

"Yeah, sure, help yourself," Shion offered. "You guys want in on the action?"

"Nah, I'm good, thanks!" Eijirou grinned around a mouthful of burger.

Kaminari, however, leaned back with a cheesy smile and an eyebrow waggle, "that depends entirely on what type of 'action' you're offering, Koyama-chan?"

Any further attempts at heavy-handed flirting was shot dead by Kyoka's icy glare. The short-haired girl had unofficially taken on the role of 'Protector of Innocence' when it came to some of her more naïve classmates; a thankless job considering said classmates still went oblivious. Sero Hanta declined answering all together, instead peering at his phone with his chopsticks hovering near his open mouth.

"Hey, Koyama-chan…?" Hanta finally voiced.

"Yo?" Shion perked up.

"You live near Fukuoka, right? You get on the train for Fukuoka Station anyway."

"Er, yeah, I guess," Shion shrugged.

"Have you heard about this thing with Muscular?" Hanta nodded towards his phone. "It's all over Hero Watch, at the minute."

A nervous, jittery sort of energy chased its way up from her stomach to her brain, making Shion hyper aware of how she moved, how she sat, how she spoke. The smile she'd pasted onto her face felt in danger of peeling, but Shion didn't dare adjust it, in case that single twitch betrayed her somehow. Shion was so tense it felt like the tendons in her shoulders would snap like over-stretched elastic bands.

 _No, no, calm down._ She'd gotten through the morning and Ochako's questions. Maybe she was being overly paranoid? It was quite a large leap to make from classmate that looked _vaguely_ like a Villain and has the same Quirk, to accusing said classmate of being involved somehow. If Kaminari was off the same day as a power-outage would Shion automatically assume that he'd caused it? Besides, any extra involvement besides Hiroto, Fuse and Third Kind had been purposefully hidden from the media, so _why_ would anyone suspect anyone else of being involved? _Just play it nice and breezy._

"Muscular? Never heard of him," Shion shrugged. Somehow. At that point, she wasn't entirely sure _what_ she was going to do next until she did it.

"Yeah, I guess not," Hanta sighed. "He's not that well known, to be honest. They gave him a pretty high danger rating though..."

"Jeez..." Mina frowned, immediately perking up again before Shion could blink. "Good thing you're on our side, right Koyama-chan!"

"Heheheh, yeah..." Shion tried not to openly cringe as Mina grinned at her, sweating so much she was more portable waterfall than teen girl at that point.

Eijirou, who'd been listening to the exchange (or _any_ exchange where Hero showdowns were the topic of conversation) with rapt interest, nodded at Hanta's phone, "it tells you all that stuff on there? Can you send me a link?"

"On Hero Watch? Yeah, I get updates on my phone now and then," in lieu of a link, Hanta just handed his phone over to the redhead who proceeded to inspect it, face scrunched with concentration.

"Midoriya-kun's way more into it though, I'm pretty sure he mentioned he was into the forums and stuff," Hanta continued.

"Cool! So, he's some kind of Hero Otaku, right?" Mina interjected, leaning over her salad so she could blink owlishly at them all.

"Eh, I guess," Hanta shrugged. "All I know is that he's pretty serious about this stuff."

Kaminari wasn't the type of person to let his boredom go unnoticed, and apparently this topic was boring him to tears. " _Extra_ research? Seriously? Who'd put themselves through that. Besides, what's so great about Muscleman, or Musclehead-"

"Muscular," Eijirou corrected without glancing up from Hanta's phone.

"Whatever," Kaminari shrugged. "What's so great about him anyway? If you want to see a _real_ fight, then you need to check out High Voltage vs. the Hanzaki Gang!"

"And High Voltage _just happens_ to have the same Quirk as you, huh?" Kyoka's expression was flat and unimpressed.

"I know class when I see it," Kaminari replied smugly, leaning back in his chair and even daring to wink at the short-haired girl.

"One word: _whey."_

"Hey, c'mon, Jirou-chan. Kaminari-kun can't help being a classy," Mina nudged the dejected blonde with a teasing giggle.

"Yeah, he's gonna bring out his own fragrance, y'know," Shion grinned, before making her voice wispy and waving her arms about in a way that (hopefully) symbolised mystery. "It's gonna be called ' _Whey'_ by Lacoste."

Kyoka snorted. Mina was laughing so hard that she was on the verge of crying, only stopping now and then to repeat Shion's wavy hand gestures before even that would crack her up again.

"The adverts gonna be Kaminari-kun riding a white horse along a beach, ass-naked!"

"Urgh, didn't need that mental image," Seto shuddered.

"Yeah," Eijirou looked as if Shion had personally hurt him. "That's not… I'm not even sure what that is - but it's definitely not cool!"

"See, I always knew you were dying to see me with my clothes off!" Kaminari crowed.

"Eau-du-Whey!" Mina gasped. " _Eau-du-Whey!"_

This only set Shion off again and the two girls devolved into shouting perfume brands with the word 'whey' squashed haphazardly into them, while Kaminari's charm offence went (unsurprisingly) ignored.

/-/-/

It took until Friday for Shion to finally unknot any lingering tension. By then, no one had mentioned the Fukuoka Subway incident for three days at least - despite Shion preparing an infinitely cooler explanation of 'spontaneous shark attack' if anyone asked about the ring of teeth marks on her shoulder. Midoriya had been a little jumpy around her, though Shion had mostly pinned that on Midoriya being a rather jumpy person all round. No one appeared to have connected the seemingly improbable dots, at any rate.

Within that week, All Might hadn't been forthcoming on _why_ exactly he'd intervened... but then again, Shion hadn't had the stomach to just ask him. She wasn't sure what he'd say, or if what he said would _change_ anything. In all honesty, a large part of Shion didn't want to hear the answer. _He'd probably answer with some message like 'helping others was its own reward,' anyway._

Things at home hadn't improved much either. Kiku was still both president and sole member of the 'I hate Koyama Shion' fanclub, and her parents had reacted how they usually did when things settled down after a close call - shopping sprees and impromptu day trips. Considering the police-enforced supervision, it wasn't like Shion could get out the house for five minutes and wear out her frustration on her bike tyres. Not without checking over her shoulder every five seconds, and constantly wondering if there was anything overly suspicious about the way she was pedaling.

So, with the threat of both cabin-fever and how close she'd come to losing said company, Shion immersed herself with Class 1A as much as she could. She'd managed to get Mina's phone number (she would have asked the guys too, but she didn't want it to get misinterpreted or something), and spent her free time spamming both the pink-skinned girl and Kyoka with ridiculous pictures and equally ridiculous updates on her afternoon. 'Gangsta Fruit' in particular had been a fun few hours, and Shion got an extra kick out of imaging some poor policeman having to scroll through the hundredth picture of a pineapple in sunglasses.

Kyoka had also introduced her to a ton of new bands, most of which were a little too soft for Shion's taste but a few were becoming new favourites. Kyoka was about as flamboyant when it came to texts as she was in real life, so usually Shion would only receive a band name without any context. The abruptness was pretty funny, even _if_ it had caused a few misunderstandings - like when Kyoka sent her a text that just said 'Behind You,' and Shion had spent twenty minutes checking the back of the sofa and peering out the window, before realising that it was a band name.

Suffice to say, come Friday Shion was feeling pretty good about herself. She'd dodged a bullet, managed to get closer with _most_ of her classmates and avoided getting kicked out of U.A. Bar Kiku's continued sulking, Shion considered it a perfect save all round.

So, _of course,_ something just had to come along to piss on her parade.

"Now for today's basic Hero training..." Aizawa-sensei muttered from his spot in front of the blackboard. "This time All Might, myself and one other will supervise."

A ripple of excited whispers spread through the classroom. After the mock battles, Foundational Hero Studies had focused mainly on First Aid and emergency procedures. Although, getting to actually let loose a little with her Quirk had been a guilty pleasure, Shion had been relieved by the anonymity and safety of studying from books.

And yet...

Feet swinging impatiently under her chair, Shion wasn't completely immune to the rush of adrenaline sweeping through the classroom. Call it secondhand excitement or whatever, but her initial reaction to Aizawa's statement had been ' _finally'._

 _"_ Preparing you for disaster relief, from fire and floods, it's Rescue Training," Shion's eyes almost bugged out when Aizawa punctuated his statement by brandishing a small card with the words 'Rescue Training' printed on.

Maybe whatever exotic mental disorder All Might had was catching? But then again, Aizawa-sensei had always been a bit of a lowkey weirdo - well, lowkey compared to some of the other staff.

"T-they're not actually going to stick us in a flood...right?" Koji asked nervously.

"It's _Hero_ training," Kyoka shrugged. "It'd defeat the purpose, if they went easy on us."

"Besides they definitely won't, y'know, _barbeque_ you alive or anything, Koda-kun," Shion beamed, hoping to cheer him up a little after Kyoka's unsympathetic comment. Poor guy was shaking.

Yet despite Shion's efforts, Koji only looked more terrified than he had before.

"Hey, I'm not done," Aizawa interrupted. "It's up to each of you whether or not you wear your costumes, as some of them are ill-suited to this sort of activity. The training site is a bit remote, so we'll be going by bus. That's all. Get ready."

Aizawa signed out with usual stern apathy, leaving his students to scramble for their costumes. It was kind of a no brainer for Shion. Even if her costume left the her new scar on display; the only other option was to have her uniform rip off when she activated her Quirk, leaving her to combat flash-fires with public nudity.

After a quick change, Class 1A were herded off towards a school bus parked outside. Warm and with the teasing of a mild breeze, Shion stretched her back and craned up at the fattening trees at U.A.'s entrance. To be fair to him, Aizawa-sensei couldn't have picked a better day for a field trip. Even if Shion was screaming and running about like a headless chicken in an hour, at least it felt especially good to be out in the sunshine.

"Ah, Koyama-san! Warming up, I see," Shion craned her head back to see Iida approaching, clipboard tucked neatly under his arm.

Her lips curled into a grin. _Of course, Megane-kun would be the first one dressed and lined up outside._

 _"_ Yo, Megane-kun!" Shion raised a hand.

Unfortunately, the action directed Iida's attention to the ball of Shion's shoulder, where a ring of tiny, whitish indents marred her skin.

"Koyama-san...is that...IS THAT WHAT I BELIEVE IT IS?"

Shion almost leapt out of her skin, further startled by Iida rushing forward and manually (though surprisingly gentle for a guy who looked like a manic steam-train) inspecting her shoulder.

"Oh, _that_ , yeah," Shion chuckled. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"'Cool'? 'Cool'? No, not at all 'cool,' Koyama-san! To think that I would hurt a fellow classmate with the very hands I _swore_ to use to support them..." Iida trailed off, glaring brokenly at the offending hand.

"Eh? No, no, no, Megane-kun! Chill out, this wasn't your fault," Shion wasn't sure what to do, so she awkwardly patted his arm and hoped that somehow made it better.

"You're just saying that to spare my feelings-"

"Seriously, it was there _before_ you karate chopped- er, I mean encouraged me."

"It..." Iida was beginning to look a little hopeful. "It was?"

"Yeah! So, don't beat yourself up about it, yeah?" Shion grinned. She was a little touched that Iida _was_ getting so worked up about her injury. _The goof, although that might be pot calling kettle black in my case._

The grin, if anything, finally reassured Iida of his lack of guilt. After breathing an audible sigh of relief, the bespectacled boy straightened and fixed Shion with an expression of stern, motherly concern. It was a little weird coming from a fifteen year old dude, but Shion wasn't about to turn away a sympathetic audience.

"Well, please be considerate of your injury during today's rescue training! I'd hate for you to harm yourself further, Koyama-san," Iida ordered. "If you don't mind me asking, how _did_ you injure yourself?"

"Er, spontaneous shark attack."

"I see..." for an awful moment, Shion was _sure_ Iida had worked out the truth. Shion didn't know how to explain it, but there was a _click_ or sudden clarity going on behind his eyes that made her breath freeze in her throat.

But Iida was smiling and gesticulating and up to his general Iida-ness within a heartbeat, leaving Shion to wonder if it had been a moment of insanity.

"Well! If there's ever anything you need, Koyama-san, as Class President I will do my very best to provide it!"

Still feeling out of sync, Shion could only nod dumbly. _Had_ she just imagined that? There was no other explanation; Iida was a stickler for rules, there was no way he'd just turn around and say nothing. Unless he was going to rat her out later? To who, the faculty already knew about Shion's background. Besides, that didn't seem like Iida's style, if he truly thought she was threat he probably would have tackled and hogtied her right then and there. So, what the hell was going on?

"...Hey, Iida-kun?"

Immediately, Iida neatly pivoted back round again. Shion blinked. She hadn't expected him to react so quickly, and now she was a little lost when it came to what she'd even wanted to accomplish in the first place.

"Yes, Koyama-san?" Iida replied, polite and attentive.

"I just wanted to say...er, thanks, y'know," Shion chuckled. "Seriously, you're doing a good job at this Class President stuff."

"You truly mean that? Thank you, Koyama-san!" Iida's smile was so bright, it was almost frightening. _Definitely_ heart-warming, of course...but kind of frightening too. Shion swore he was tearing up a little too.

She laughed, now convinced she'd imagined that brief spark of comprehension. Her thanks, however, wasn't going to save Shion from being marched onto the bus with military precision at the urging of Iida and his trusty whistle. As soon as the bus doors opened, it became abundantly clear that all his organisational efforts were for naught. The bus was open planned and smelt overwhelmingly of furniture polish, with a slight undercurrent of melted sweep wrappers. Shion was hesitant to touch the hand rests in case they were slightly sticky.

The seats were padded though, and Shion relished the opportunity to throw herself into hers like she would the sofa at home. At least she wasn't sitting up front, getting jostled about with other unfortunates and trying not to wind someone with your elbow. _Little things, Shion. Take joy in the little things._

Yeah, Shion was feeling surprisingly good about herself. Not the actual training exercise - although she wouldn't mind (would, in fact, probably _enjoy_ ) getting delegated to heavy-lifting jobs or general muscle work. But the break in tedium and good weather was more than enough to put Shion in a good mood.

Smiling to herself, Shion breathed a happy sigh before immediately freezing upon noticing who was sitting beside her. Todoroki didn't even bother acknowledging her, just sat there exuding those 'don't even breathe on me' vibes. To be honest, Todoroki didn't _need_ to acknowledge someone in order to send the atmosphere plummeting to arctic levels.

Shion barely resisted the urge to groan, her hopes of passing the drive with harmless chatter crashing and burning. It wasn't just that Todoroki didn't look partial to harmless chatter, it was that he looked likely to freeze your ass if you tried to involve him in it. Which was weird in itself, considering that Todoroki hadn't swaggered about threatening everything in a five mile radius like Bakugou had. There was nothing _openly_ violent about the guy. In fact, there was nothing _open_ about the guy at all - just that air of intimidation he gave off.

Todoroki's eyes flicked briefly in her direction. Shion tried a smile. Todoroki point-blank ignored it, immediately switching back to staring apathetically out the window again. _Right. T_ _otal silence, it is then._ _T_ _his is going to be a long ass bus journey._


	15. Shion Koyama vs Soup of Mortal Terror

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

Okay so…I'm not sure I can apologise enough for the substantial update gap between this chapter and the previous one. Life intervened, things went to shit, it took some time to drag them up out of that shit, and then I felt too embarrassed about updating after leaving it this long.

It was an incredibly crappy way to repay all the support, kindness and loyalty you've given me, and I honestly don't have any excuse for it. But I don't want to make any promises I can't keep this time around, so I will say this: it's been ages since I've wrote anything so I'm not exactly back in my stride, and I can't _guarantee_ that work and/or family won't jump up and bite me in the ass again so please keep that in mind. I know it's selfish of me to ask and I'll understand if you think 'sod it, I'm going to risk waiting three months between updates again' but please keep in mind that I write because it's enjoyable, I don't want it to become a chore or something I put before real world commitments.

That said, I was reading over what I've written so far and my notes and all of your lovely reviews that show people are genuinely invested in this, and this fic really _does_ mean a lot to me so thank you for sticking with me and for all the feedback I've received.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. the Soup of Mortal Terror**

 **.**

 **"Famous last words, huh?"**

 **\- Shion Koyama**

.

 **[ Shion:** switch seats wit me? **]**

 **[ Kyoka:** No **]**

 **[ Shion:** pleeeeaaaaasssse Jirou-chan . **]**

 **[ Kyoka:** Bakugou would murder u in five seconds **]**

 **[ Kyoka:** tops **]**

 **[ Shion:** risk I'm willing to take tbf **]**

 **[ Shion:** Todoroki's freakin me out **]**

 **[ Shion:** Pretty sure he hasn't blinked in 30 mins D: **]**

 **[ Shion:** I am afraid **]**

 **[ Kyoka:** quit ur whining **]**

 **[ Shion:** pleeeeassse, I don't want 2 die HAVE A HEART JIROU-CHAN TT-TT **]**

 **[Kyoka:** No **]**

 **[ Shion:** WHAT IS LOVE **]**

 **[ Shion:** BBY DON'T HURT ME **]**

 **[ Kyoka:** I swear if u spam my phone **]**

 **[ Shion:** DON'T HURT ME **]**

 **[ Shion:** NO MORE **]**

 **[ Kyoka: *picture attachment ]**

 **[ Shion:** … wtf did u just send me a pic of a water sprayer?! **]**

A tell-tale snicker from the seat in front of her confirmed Shion's question. _Traitor._ Pouting slightly, Shion slumped back in her chair and cast a longing glance towards the front of the bus. Why couldn't she be there, _they_ looked like were having fun – or more fun than Shion and the anti-social popsicle she was begrudgingly seated next to.

Boredom was not something Shion dealt with gracefully. She tested every button on the overhead switch. She tried to incite Kyoka into another texting match (which failed spectacularly). She got a new score on the Mochi Mash app on her phone, then another one on some game involving a dart board, a greased chicken and a point system that Shion couldn't make heads or tails of. And all of this was interspersed with much sighing and pouting and staring longingly at the front of the bus. If Todoroki was bothered by all the fidgeting, he didn't say anything – though he didn't say much of anything anyway.

In the end Shion ended up following Kyoka's lead, plugging into her music and plugging out. Her foot bounced in tempo with the heavy drumbeat, slapping hands falling and rising with the screech of angry guitars and the seething, roiling vocals. Rescue training, Aizawa had said. There was no actual guarantee that it would involve combat; more than likely Class 1A would probably spend hours sopping wet and trying to ration out life jackets to blow-up dolls. She _should_ have been pleased.

Shion had spent much of the Battle Trials covered with bird shit and flapping about in a mindless panic. And yet…she'd felt powerful at times, hadn't she? During the Battle Trials, of course, not on Saturday - _nothing_ about being hunted through Fukuoka had made Shion feel anything but tiny and fragile - which that was probably the root of the problem, now she thought about it.

Shion just wanted to feel, well, like she had during the entrance exam. Like she could tear through anything, like she could grapple a mountain or wedgie Chuck Norris until he cried little, manly tears. As nervous as she was when it came to other people's perception of her Quirk, advanced strength and speed felt damn good (when she _wasn't_ worrying herself into a coma over hurting someone accidentally, anyway). _Anyone_ in Shion's position wouldn't have been able to deny that visceral surge of satisfaction that came from causing that much destruction, right? It was intimidating, and Shion hated that but had also, in some weird way, come to rely on it. There was a certain safety in the knowledge that you could bench press a Sumo wrestler.

Not that she was unfamiliar with losing, she lost to Kiku in intelligence, Hiroto in strength, and she was pretty sure her parents burped out things that were more charming than she was – but punching things was what Shion _could_ do, what she good at. Yet on Saturday, she hadn't – _couldn't -_ even raise her fist. _All that strength, and I do bugger all with it_. It was humiliating, and Shion was right to feel humiliated by it. If she wasn't even good for that, then what good was she?

Punching out a classmate wasn't the answer, nor was it her intention (furthest thing from it). But maybe, she could do _something_ to prove that Saturday had been a gross fluke, a product of the situation and therefore something beyond Shion's control. She just needed a little of that kick, just enough to reassure herself that when – _if_ she never needed to use her Quirk again, she could count on it taking the hits.

The bus shuddered to a halt with an exhale of air. Shion jerked in her seat, belatedly realising that she'd been rubbing the small scar on her shoulder and glaring into space. Momentarily alarmed, she flicked her eyes about at the departing students only to meet the hard stare of Todoroki. _Jeez, talk about intense._ Shion smiled like a deflating fart, before scrambling after Kyoka's slouched figure.

Class 1A had barely got off the bus before Iida was wrangling them into order with all the authority of a repressed housewife, trusty clipboard and whistle in tow. After _enjoying_ his company for the duration of the ride, Shion was eager to put as much distance between herself and her impromptu bus buddy as possible – an easy task considering Todoroki tended to linger on the outskirts. Shion inhaled deeply.

 _Ah. Better~_

It'd be fine. She was probably only getting worked up due to proximity to Todoroki's happiness blackhole. Field trips were meant to be fun, she was clearly tying herself up in knots about nothing and all this excess anxiety could be palmed off on hormones or something. She could just kick back and chill out with her classmates. Everything would sort itself out in due course.

/-/-/

Thirty minutes later and Shion was _vehemently_ determined not to listen to anything she told herself ever again. Why the hell would she take the advice of such a notorious idiot! _Kick back and chill, she said. Everything will sort itself out, she said. Field trips are meant to be_ fun, _she said. Holy shit, you are about as prophetic as a freaking chicken nugget, Koyama Shion, and I hate you!_

Correction: Field trips were _meant_ to be fun, provided you weren't enrolled into a school that seemed hellbent on murdering you! Okay, okay, she could hardly blame U.A. _this_ time. Judging by Aizawa-sensei's reaction, having a group of super-powered thugs turn up uninvited had _not_ been part of the lesson plan. The class geniuses had already mentioned sensors and the black hole the Villains had emerged from was obviously a teleportation Quirk, and therefore nearly impossible to predict…but damn it, she was going to blame U.A. anyway! Hopefully _before_ a complete panic-induced mental breakdown and her immediate demise. _Shit, shit, shit…_

Evidently, Shion couldn't even hyperventilate correctly, any attempts immediately giving way to coughing as her lungs tried to expel air that tasted of ash and ground concrete. _Where the hell am I?_ Eyes watering, Shion squinted at her surroundings, bare fingers and calves shifting under the hot tarmac. She was in some kind of street, a generic, cardboard cut-out urban landscape bar the fact that all the nearby buildings were _on fire!_ Not even a little bit on fire (though even Shion wasn't entirely sure what she'd meant by that definition). Windows with jagged mouths of broken glass choked up flames, the buildings themselves stretched high and looming, their heads obscured under a heavy canopy of black smoke. The empty roar of fire a demanding wall of noise. And everything – _everything,_ from the cracked, steaming road to the skeletal remains of burnt-out cars – emitted the same warm glow that Shion could feel cooking the exposed skin of her cheeks.

No, in true U.A. fashion, they'd taken a seemingly mundane street and turned it into a deadly hellscape.

 _This must be the conflagration zone._ Although she wasn't entirely sure where that placed her in regard to the other murder playgrounds – sorry _, U.A_. _training scenarios_ – except that it was marginally better than the Flood Zone and decidedly worse than everywhere else. And, as if the symbolic 'soup of mortal terror' that was burning buildings and too-thin air needed anymore spicing up, she also had to contend with a roving band of Villains out for student blood. _Welp, might as well roll under the nearest flaming car and let death embrace me._ _Y'know, speed things up a bit…_

No. **No.** Calm down, they'd gone over this in recent lessons. Although she wasn't exactly the most studious member of Class 1A (far more interested in what her classmates were chatting about than her teachers), she had a vague memory of fire safety procedures. Okay, so biggest threat was the smoke. _That_ much she did remember. Besides, she could always grow back any damaged augmented muscle but Shion very much doubted anyone was going to swap her their lung.

So, first thing first, she needed to regulate her smoke inhalation. With shaking hands, Shion attempted to rip a strip of material from the bottom of her shorts…then tried again when that didn't work, and again and again. Clamping down on a frustrated growl, Shion gave up – the superpowered cloth was _designed specifically_ to accommodate the stress of extreme muscle growth. With a huff, she settled for zipping up her sleeveless hoodie as far as it would go. _Okay, so that was bust, what else?_ Keep away from closed doors and windows because of something to do with…air pockets? Trapped air? Shion couldn't remember _why_ exactly, only that the end result was usually 'explosions,' and she definitely did _not_ have the time or stomach for that. Keep close to the ground. Identify an escape route. Get your ass to the escape route.

She could do that. Probably. No, no, she _would_ do that. Then she'd meet up with the rest of Class 1A, have a nice long bath, and finally tell her mother that she was retiring from U.A. Academy to pursue her dreams goat-herding or bootie knitting or _any_ career really that didn't involve potential maiming.

Wait…Her classmates! It wouldn't be too unreasonable to assume that at least one of them got washed up here, there _were_ only so many zones after all. What if they got teleported butt-first into a fire, or a mob of gangsters or something? First priority was finding them before anyone else did. Mostly for their own safety, and partly because Shion would feel a hell of a lot better about this entire thing if she wasn't in it alone.

"…Hello?" the first call was tentative, more terrified with alerting the _wrong_ person than alerting no-one at all.

Silence. Maddening, inarguable silence. Shion waited, body tensed and eyes squinting into the shifting billows of smoke and fire reflected off windows. What if she was alone? With Thirteen and Aizawa-sensei calling out orders there'd been at least some semblance of control, but if Shion's survival depended only on her own abilities she was screwed. Completely, utterly _screwed._

More than that, what about her classmates? Kyoka, Mina-chan, Kirishima-kun, Megane-kun, Uraraka-chan, Midoriya-kun, Kaminari-kun and even stupid Momo-hime – all of them, people she spoke with or shared a joke with, people who'd done the same frustrating maths equations as her, eaten the same food, breathed the same space, just _people_. Nothing…nothing was going to happen to them, right? Well, presumably _something_ would, considering the small army of bogey-men Aizawa-sensei had been trying to take down, but nothing too bad. This was U.A., someone would turn up or something, or they'd only get taken hostage and mount a daring escape. Right?

Shion shot to her feet, fumbling to activate her Quirk properly despite the wave of panic that urged her _faster, faster, faster. Should have done that first. From now on, whenever freaky shit goes down, I'm muscling up right away._ The augmented muscles shot out and latched onto her, winding themselves and tightening around her frame, finally lending her a much-needed, precious modicum of reassurance.

"Hey! C'mon, is anyone there? Hello!"

"Koyama-san! Is that you?"

A hunched figure slowly began to detach itself from behind the bulk of a stranded delivery truck, coughing roughly into their fist.

 _Oh, thank fuck!_

Crouched as they were and with the flickering light of the fires as their only illumination, it was difficult to identify them, but the relief of hearing another voice was so strong. Plus 'Koyama-san' guaranteed a classmate, or at least someone who could recognise her by voice alone.

The blonde almost tripped over herself in her haste to reach them, finally skidding to a stop by the truck's rear bumper and thrusting a hand out into the darkness. A calloused, sooty hand gripped back. Straining towards the light, Mashirao Ojiro's sharp face came into view. His dark eyes scanned the rest of the street before finally landing on Shion with a chagrined smile, as if the entire situation was only an inconvenience and not a disaster of pant-shitting proportions. Shion had only exchanged a handful of words with the martial arts enthusiast before, but at that moment she could've kissed the dude in the middle of street out of pure gratitude.

"Oh man, am I glad to see you," Shion breathed, teary-eyed.

"Yeah, likewise," he sighed through a smile. "But, er, could you get this off me first?"

"Oh! Right! Yeah, yeah, just gimme…" Shion huffed as she curled her hands under the bumper and lifted it enough for Mashirao to slide his tail out from underneath.

"Thanks," he nodded, checking his tail over for damages.

"No worries, no worries."

Apparently satisfied that his tail wasn't going to shoot off his backside or something, Mashirao leaned back on his heels and assessed the situation, "I haven't seen anyone else, not that I could look around much with my tail stuck under there, but I'm pretty sure we're the only ones here anyway."

"I'm not sure if that's good news or not, y'know?"

"Yeah. This, erm…this is not ideal," Mashirao finally voiced, rubbing a hand against the back of his neck.

Shion goggled, "'not ideal'? Pinkeye is not ideal, _this_ is nightmare fuel!"

Mashirao opened his mouth as if to argue, hesitated then closed it again before locking eyes with her, "whatever the case, for now we've got to work out a plan of action."

"You're right, you're right," Shion sighed. "Sorry."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, it didn't look like there'd be anyone mounting a rescue, and they couldn't just _sit_ there and wait when there were roving bands of Villains hunting about. They needed to get out of the USJ. No two ways about it. _Okay, remember the plan: find an exit, get ass to exit while hopefully keeping spleen in body._

" _So…_ is there a map or something? It's a simulation, right? So, there's gotta be an exit somewhere," Shion rose from her crouch and scanned the flaming buildings.

"I can't remember seeing any," Mashirao frowned. "And visibility's not great right now, with the smoke and everything…"

Right, visibility. Maybe if they got up on the roofs, they could get a bird's eye view of the place? But then they'd have to contend with the fires, and as far as Shion knew neither of them had anything approaching a water-based Quirk. _Shit, okay…think, think, I know it's not your forte but there_ has _to be a brain somewhere in that pea-head of yours._

Suddenly a thought popped into existence. An idiotic thought, but a thought nonetheless. Mashirao, perhaps through some primal sense of encroaching danger, slowly glanced up at her grinning face with the apprehension it so rightly deserved.

"I _think_ I might have an idea."

"Uh, that's…good?" Mashirao voiced uneasily "…I hope."

"Okay, this is gonna sound like a weird question, but you don't get car sick, right?"

"No?" Mashirao was still eyeing her like she might spontaneously combust.

"Okay, right, this is probably the shittiest plan in the _history_ of shitty plans, so if you think so just tell me, y'know? It's not a big deal, we'll work something else out that doesn't involve catapulting you into the sky or whatever, like at this point I think it's _literally_ impossible to offend me so if you think that it's-"

"Hang on, Koyama-san, at least let me hear it first," Mashirao raised a hand to silence her anxious rambling, his other hand coming up to massage a burgeoning headache. "Wait a second, did you say, 'catapult me into the sky'?"

"Hahaha…Erm, yeah?" Shion smiled uneasily. She even shrugged a little in a helpless sort of 'what can you do' gesture.

Mashirao looked (justifiably) horrified.

"B-but I'd catch you!" Shion rushed to explain.

"Hang on, okay, just give a second to think this over…"

Shion waited as Ojiro inhaled deeply, eyes closed with concentration before exhaling and opening his eyes. They didn't really have long to come to a verdict since it was a miracle they hadn't been discovered by any Villains yet anyway (Shion was willing to bet that the low visibility had proven itself to be something of a double-edged sword there), and the heat and suffocating air was already beginning to affect them in ways Shion determinedly wasn't going to start thinking about right now. But the guy _definitely_ deserved a minute or so to mull over whether putting his life in her hands was a wise decision.

"So, let me see if I've got this right, the plan is that you throw me up into the air, then I get an idea of where the exits are… _while_ I'm in the air?"

"Well, yeah…but it sounds worse when you put it like that," Shion winced. "It's just that we can't risk climbing any of the burning buildings, or blindly wandering around while there's a bunch of Villains out there."

Mashirao said nothing – probably weighing up the pros and cons of becoming a human pancake (spoiler alert: there are no pros).

"Look, I know it's a shitty idea," Shion began.

"No, you're right," Mashirao interrupted with a sigh.

"Yeah, so…wait, I _am_?" she blinked.

"Yeah, you're right," he smiled weakly.

"We need to get out of here quickly and this place is a maze; I can't think of a better plan so let's get this over with," he stood and patted Shion on her Augmented Muscled shoulder.

Shion laughed, "famous last word, huh?"

At Mashirao's horrified expression, she at least had the courtesy to grimace, "sorry."

It took five attempts for Shion and Mashirao to work out the exact amount of force needed for him to clear the rooftops. At first, Shion had been too wary of accidentally crushing, javelin-throwing and/or dropping her temporary companion into an early grave. Despite his initial misgivings, it had been Mashirao who'd reassured her to throw him higher until finally, on her fifth throw, he was confident enough that he could navigate them both through the burning city. By the time he'd come down (and fended off Shion's barrage of whether he was _sure_ she hadn't accidentally murdered him), Mashirao was covered from waist to crown in soot.

"There's an exit two streets over, but we should hurry since we don't know how any of our classmates are doing - the sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can help everyone."

 _Jiro-chan and the others._ Shion swallowed down the sudden swell of panic. There was no way to tell how they were all faring - though she felt safe in assuming that Bakugou was probably fist-deep in some poor dude's intestines. While she was about as useful as a water-dissolvable toilet when it came to strategy and heroics and all that crap, she was a worthwhile meat shield at least. Tacky red thoughts of Fuse and her Canine Warriors flashed through her head. Shion really, _really_ didn't want to see any of them get hurt. You didn't have to be a Hero for that, just equipped with basic human decency.

"How _did_ you come up with that, anyway?" Mashirao asked as he dusted himself off to the best of his abilities (a futile endeavour really, considering the Conflagration Zone just kept regurgitating more ash).

"Look, don't get mad but I, er, I saw it on Shrek," Shion averted her eyes and laughed shakily.

Mashirao's curious expression instantly flumped. In a rare moment of social tact, Shion decided not to go along with her follow-up joke about him being her talking ass – something told her Mashirao would not appreciate it.

"Oh," he said, deadpan.

Two streets seemed to stretch themselves, when your eyes were stinging, and your skin felt like it was sweating off your frame. The pair had started out at a brisk (but wary) jog, Mashirao setting a reasonable pace to ensure that they could both respond to any blockades and wouldn't run immediately out of breath. That had been the plan, anyway, but by the time they stopped Shion was still gripping her knees and gasping for breath. Paired with her previous inactive lifestyle and the lack of clean air, Shion felt like she was cooking under the mantle of her Augmented Muscles. _Augmented Muscles or not, I'm gonna have to start working on my stamina if I don't want to sound like a dying camel._

Not that she'd helped matters. Overly cautious, Shion had pulled them both behind whatever sparse cover was available at every noise and encroaching shadow. Although they'd yet to be directly approached (or even _indirectly_ approached, for that matter), on a one occasion they'd spotted a small group of Villains in-fighting a street over from a small gap between two buildings. From what Shion had seen, most of the Villains had fire or armor-based Quirks, and the organisational skills of a box of sponges.

According to Mashirao and the few brain cells Shion still possessed, this meant that whoever was coordinating the attacks had chosen quantity over quality - not one face they could see had made it anywhere near headline news, add that to the homemade costumes and unprofessional conduct, and it was reasonable to assume that they were either small time or budding criminals. Whoever it was had also had the foresight to limit their – goons? Lackeys? Whatever the hell you called them – to areas where their Quirks were at an advantage. _But_ they hadn't had the social savvy to predict and counter the logical conclusion that came about from having groups of self-serving individuals working towards the same goal. It gave Shion a little hope imagining that whoever was gunning for U.A. wasn't _completely_ competent.

Although, it still didn't explain _why_ they were here in the first place. To spend all that time and presumably money (surely, they had been promised some sort of pay check) on collecting Villains, just to hijack a school field trip. A _U.A._ field trip, sure, but a field trip nonetheless. If they wanted to come after Heroes, why not just attack one directly? Maybe they were after one of the teachers? All Might or Aizawa-sensei or even the spaceman dude who ran the joint, but even then why risk all the collateral involved with school students? Why not just attack them when they were at home or something? And why purposefully split said school students up and regulate them to Villian-filled death traps? No, they had to be after U.A., but why? What had any of them done to warrant such an extreme reaction. Shion just didn't get it. It was too over-the-top if they just wanted to take out potential future Heroes, and if that was the case why target a bunch who hadn't even completed their first year? More than that, she didn't get why U.A. had allowed the situation to happen at all. There had to be protocols or whatever in place to avoid something like this, they were a school and school's were _not_ meant to let their students get picked off by some mysterious super group!

Shion's train of thought was interrupted by a coughing fit.

"Are you okay?" Mashirao asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning down so she could see his concerned face.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm good" Shion panted.

Mashirao grimaced in sympathy, "I know but we're nearly there now, do think you can hold out until then?"

 _Yeah, he's right, just focus on getting out and then you try working out why a bunch of strangers were trying to kill you. Holy shit, how is this my life..._

"Sorry," Shion pulled herself up, took a deep breath and exhaled with a thumbs-up. "All good!"

"Just one street over, Koyama-san," he promised.

It was that tangible finish line that powered Shion onto her feet again. Here the cracked, black blistered skyscrapers (or the _imitations_ of burning skyscrapers, as the case may be) seemed to press ever closer. Whether it was meant to replicate a real outbreak or not, the closer they came to the exit, the thicker the tangle of abandoned vehicles became – some even left with doors open to suggest a hasty getaway. It was eerie. And sad in a strange way that Shion couldn't vocalise, although knowing logically that the entire Zone was a prop of sorts. Maybe U.A. had purposefully designed it with that in mind? Maybe they wanted to prepare their students for emotional responses, not just the physical.

Eventually the road began to widen and spill out into what looked like a traffic island, though the build-up of charred debris made scoping out the exit difficult. It was precisely there that the uneasy feeling snagged Shion's stomach and had her yanking them both to a halt. Mashirao cast her a confused glance but didn't immediately question as Shion dropped them both down behind the cover of a delivery truck.

"What is it?" he whispered.

Shion opened her mouth, closed it then gestured futilely, "I dunno, I just got this really weird feeling like the heebie jeebies on steroids."

"You think there's something up ahead?" Mashirao frowned. "It's the exit so it'd make sense that they'd get someone to guard it."

"I _dunno_ , just something _really_ doesn't feel right," Shion stressed.

Her shoulders drew up around her unprotected ears, she felt invisible eyes latched onto her back, that nagging sensation that she'd missed a step somewhere or forgotten something vital pawing incessantly at her nerves. There was a little distress signal flaring urgently in her brain somewhere, and while she couldn't say _why,_ she knew instinctively that she really, _really_ didn't like whatever was on the other side of the truck.

"Hang on, I'll check," before Shion could protest, Mashirao creeped his head out from cover.

Shion held out approximately seven seconds before shuffling over and peeking her head out too. The exit was directly across from them, easily identifiable as the only beacon of modern technology in an otherwise burnt-out husk; a large tunnel padded either side with metal coolants and (if her time so far at U.A. had been any indication) probably all sorts of scanners that measured completion time, health status and other scores. Between them and the exit was a small island, about five paces across each way and circled directly by the cracked road. On the island was a stone platform, with two steps cut into each side and a small, black granite memorial tablet in the centre.

Standing – or squatting, if you wanted to get technical – against the memorial stone was a figure that looked too ridiculous to be possible at first glance. A wiry, androgynous shape clad entirely in a skin-tight pink bunny suit, complete with an oversized Chibi head. The bunny in question was also sporting a padded military vest and thick military boots, but it was still someone in a bright pink mascot costume and that kinda killed any intimidation factor, it's little shiny eyes winking under the firelight. Shion could understand why Mashirao hadn't responded, it was kinda hard to tell whether this guy (or lady, or lady-guy) even _was_ a threat or not. She could imagine she would have been just as flummoxed if Kumamon rocked up and started doing star jumps.

"What the fu…"

The confused breath trailed into nothing as Shion finally registered what exactly had the Bunny's attention. One padded knee was pressed very deliberately on the prone throat of a man - Shion guessed he had to be late-teens, early twenties though the mop of shoulder length orange hair and the two antelope-like horns curling from his forehead made it difficult to make out anything beyond gritted teeth and a split lip. One gloved hand was fisted in the nape of the guy's leather jacket while the other caressed a combat knife up and down the guy's ribcage with a tenderness that seemed grotesque in such a situation. Every time the man would whimper or tremble, the bunny would cock its head and pause just long enough to dig the knife's edge deeper into his skin. But beyond the very obvious display of intimidation and sadism, it was the bunny's demeanor that _really_ made Shion's skin crawl. It seemed…playful. Childish. _Wrong._

Now that she was looking for more evidence in the world's foremost version of 'Where's Waldo – Psychopath Edition,' Shion could spot another human shape splayed across the bonnet of a car near the exit gates, gasping as she clasped her hands to her stomach, eyes squeezed shut. _What had it...what the..._

"Holy shit," Shion breathed.

Mashirao only nodded dumbly in reply.

There wasn't much else to say to that.

"Is there any chance we can just… _go around_ the demented bunny?" Shion was aware she was whining. Shion did not care at that moment.

"Maybe," Mashirao nodded. "I mean I don't want to go up against that thing any more than you do-"

"I seriously doubt that," she replied, eyes wide and horrified.

"- _But_ we have to think 'what would a Hero do,' and I think a Hero would at least try to delay the Villain until back-up arrived," Mashirao continued.

"Are you _high! That_ thing is _not_ a training exercise, we are _not_ Heroes, okay? _"_ Shion whispered furiously.

Mashirao looked hurt enough by her words that Shion forwent her survival instincts enough to sigh and pat his shoulder.

"It's just…don't take this the wrong way, but have you ever been in a real fight, huh? With someone actually trying to hurt you?"

Still looking downcast, Mashirao mutely shook his head.

"Because it's not cool, it's just shitty - really, _really_ shitty, and people get hurt and…I-I dunno, it's not something we should rush into," Shion looked away, terrified for a moment that her classmate would see something swimming in her expression that she didn't want him to.

 _Deep breath. Okay, okay, you're okay._

"That may be, but it's a Hero's job _to_ rush into a fight so that no one else has to," Mashirao voiced quietly.

There was still a layer of bruised feelings coating his statement but underneath that was a steadiness that Shion wouldn't expect a fifteen-year-old capable of employing when talking about their favourite breakfast foods, never mind selflessly putting themselves in harm's way.

Shion's laugh was far more shock than amusement, "what the hell is up with you guys?"

Mashirao only shrugged.

The brief burst of laughter immediately oozed into a groan as she glanced back at the bunny. She didn't want to do this, she _really_ didn't want to do this…

He paused a moment for adding, "what if he really kills that guy? We can't just leave him."

He was right. _Of course,_ he was right. If they just left him with that knife-happy lunatic, whatever happened to him was on Shion's head. There was no way she could just pretend that she hadn't seen him. He'd die alone and scared (and considering the bunny's unnatural behavior so far, probably in a lot of pain too), and Shion would just _left_ him when she could have prevented it. Letting that guy die just wasn't an option - or at least, not one she was sure she could live with.

"You're right," Shion sighed. "Are we…are we even allowed to hit that thing?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we are if it's in an area especially designed for training, and at this point it'd be self-defence," Mashirao mused. "Although, we should probably come up with a plan of attack."

"Okay, okay," Shion sighed.

"I was thinking maybe we should-"

Whatever Mashirao's strategy was, Shion didn't hear it – his next words interrupted by a muffled scream that had them both stopping dead. Shion whipped her head over cover again, just in time to spot the bunny twisting the knife into their captive's thigh, one gloved hand gesturing a finger at the sewn horizontal 3 that represented its mouth while the other released the knife to slap awkwardly at the guy's head like a toddler chastising an unruly toy.

She was up and moving before the thought even registered.

"Oi, crazy dick! Leave him alone!"

The bunny paused, cocking its head in Shion's direction. And that was the precise moment Shion knew she'd screwed up. Big time.

 _Oh…oh shit._


	16. Shion Koyama vs Demented Duracell Bunny

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made. Any original characters or content are mine, however, so please don't steal.

Note:

Jesus Christ, you guys...just..ugh! The reviews for the last chapter were honestly heartwarming (had me smiling to myself all week), it was lovely to hear from so many old readers and new ones! I don't know what to say other than thank you all so much for all your support and understanding, and apologise for the Guest reviewers prediction about it being another year before an update being correct XD

That said, this chapter is probably one of the longest so far (and the original draft was even longer before an editing frenzy) so hopefully that makes up for it :) Also I don't want to justify anything, but just as a heads-up the Villain is purposefully cartoonish which will be elaborated on in later chapters. It'll be pretty interesting to see if anyone spots the bunny's Quirk weaknesses or the different ways Shion could have played it (she's not experienced and there'd be no point starting her off as a pro-fighter).

Lastly, a warning for Hiroto's potty mouth.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. the Demented Duracell Bunny**

 **.**

" **Sounds like she's talking out her ass."**

 **\- Hiroto Koyama**

.

 _"Yo!"_

 _Shion was jolted from the half-daze she'd been slipping into for the past twenty minutes by the sound of the door thumping heavily against the plaster wall. Heavy boots followed it, then finally Hiroto rounded into view, a backpack slung over one huge shoulder and a paper bag grasped loosely in one hand. He shucked his bags onto the kitchen counter, before idly batting away the small body flinging itself at his legs._

 _"Give me a minute, just got through the damn door," Hiroto grumbled._

 _"But I'm starving," Shion whined, edging obediently away nonetheless._

 _"Good thing I got double then, huh?" with a wiry smirk, Hiroto shoved two wrapped burgers and a box of fries in her direction._

 _"Nice! Thanks, Onii-san!" Shion cheered before scuttling off to the sofa with her prize._

 _Hiroto lingered in the kitchen for a moment, sighing heavily and leaning his arms onto the stained counter - finally allowing exhaustion to drag down his shoulders. His eyes were grit, sore, stinging. His arms and legs felt like concrete, heavier than the static buzz of exhaustion that'd been nestled somewhere at the base of his neck since their parents' arrest. Juggling three menial jobs and a kid sister had left Koyama Hiroto somewhere grey past the point of exhaustion and swiftly approaching 'fuck it all' station. It was muscle memory and a dull, nagging insistence that got him through each minute of each hour of each day of each week. Being screamed at by punk kids and frustrated housewives hungry for an inch of power. Being hounded by his lazy, waste of space boss. Counting his Yen in front of the cashier while the rest of the queue gave him pitying or irritated looks._

 _This was_ _ **not**_ _the direction Koyama Hiroto imagined his life going in._

 _But Shion wouldn't understand that. Not Shion, who'd woken up, made her own breakfast, walked herself to her (new, unfamiliar) Junior High School, spent most of the day trying desperately to integrate herself with her classmates and waited, and waited, and waited until someone came home. And wasn't she always, without fail, just so damn happy to see him. Even now, she was keeping her eyes on him, trying her best not to make her staring too obvious. Still, Hiroto could feel the weight of her eyes on his back – always, and always hungry for affection or attention._

" _You okay, Onii-san?"_

 _Hiroto inhaled and drew himself up, scraping together his last vestiges of energy from who the fuck knew where before throwing himself onto the sofa beside her._

" _Yeah, budge up, brat," he huffed, kicking off his work boots and snagging a mouthful of his little sister's fries._

 _The last shift in the canned food factory had left his clothes reeking of brine, which (for someone who was normally quite meticulous about his aftershave ritual) just served to irritate Hiroto further._

" _Oi, oi, oi! Those are mine!" Shion whined._

" _Oh, yeah? That so?" Hiroto muttered, mercilessly pilfering more._

" _Well…you can have some if you want," she relented. "Cause you're my favourite and all."_

 _Hiroto snorted at that, lips curving into a small smile. Probably had less to do with 'being her favourite,' and more to do with the fact he was bigger, older and could shout a hell of a lot louder than her. Shion was likely the only member of the Koyama family that actively_ avoided _a fight. Not that he felt much up to it at the moment, either._

 _Resting his head against the back of the sofa, Hiroto let his raw eyes scan over the damp marks and peeling paper. 'Flat' was perhaps too ambitious term for their living situation, 'oversized ashtray' was probably more appropriate. Rorschach markings of mould littered the ceiling beneath the hazy yellow tide stained from years of nicotine. The living room-come-kitchen barely held a ratty sofa, a TV and a pathetic excuse for a kitchenette pressed self-consciously up against the opposite the wall. Their shared bedroom just about managed two futons, a fan and the cardboard boxes that contained both their clothes, but the entire room felt like it was peeling like flaky skin. The bathroom – well that wasn't even worth mentioning, not if he wanted to sleep tonight._

 _It was incomparable to the life they'd been living just five months ago. In fact, some mornings Hiroto felt like he was experiencing a prolonged out-of-body experience, like some nameless thing had grabbed him and dragged him into someone else's shitty life. Then his alarm would go off or Shion would start fussing in her sleep again, and he'd remember with dawning horror that, no, this was his life now and he was stuck here._

" _So…what did you do today?" Shion glanced up at him._

" _Work," Hiroto grunted._

" _Cool, cool. We made a town in class, like a fake one y'know, cause we're learning about waste and resources and all that stuff," she chattered on, unaffected by his lacklustre response._

 _Hiroto only grunted in reply, reaching up to rub one huge hand over his aching eyes._

" _Yup, it was pretty cool but I, er, I wanted to add like a theme park or something, yeah? Or maybe a stadium, I dunno…_ anyway _Watanabe-sensei said that we couldn't because it was big enough already-"_

" _Sounds like she's talking out her ass."_

 _Shion cracked up at that, and Hiroto glanced down at her with a smirk._

" _She kinda looks like a butt too!" Shion cackled. "I'm gonna call her butt-sensei tomorrow, I'll be like 'oi, Butt-sensei, I want my damn theme park'! And then – and then, you can come bust me out of detention or something, okay?"_

 _Shion risked a glance at her older brother, but his head was drooping dangerously. Every time it hit his massive chest, he'd jerk up a little and glare at the opposite wall until consciousness fully reasserted itself again._

" _If you're not, y'know, busy o-or whatever, no big deal…" Shion trailed off._

" _Busy with what?" Hiroto frowned at her, only now catching the tailing end of their somewhat one-sided conversation._

" _Nothing! It doesn't matter really," Shion grinned uneasily._

 _It was silent a moment, before Shion decided that her older brother was lucid enough for her to begin her next line of questioning._

" _So…er, Onii-san, I was wondering if we were still, y'know, going to the cinema this weekend-"_

" _For fuck's sake, give it a rest, Shion," Hiroto grunted._

" _Sorry! Sorry, it's just-"_

" _I haven't got the money, alright! And I haven't got the time because I have to work three jobs because I haven't got any damn money! Unless you wanna work too, huh? Think you can put your life on hold for me, y'know return the fucking favour!"_

" _I'm sorry, Onii-san, I'm sorry," Shion mumbled, curling into herself and doggedly avoiding eye contact._

 _Hiroto inhaled and exhaled twice, deeply, trying to wrangle back the frustration that was always seeping directly through the surface these days. It wasn't Shion's fault. He tried again and again to remind himself that it wasn't her fault that she couldn't do anything by herself, or that she was constantly greedy for whatever attention he could give her, or that their parents had screwed up and left all of them in this damn mess. It wasn't her fault that he constantly felt on the very verge of shrugging off what little self-control he had left and letting himself loose on everyone and everything. Some days it felt like that was_ exactly _what the rest of society wanted (not just expected) him to do._

 _His little sister was the only one who still seemed happy to see him, since the stigma of the Koyamas' arrest. Old friends, the regional baseball team he'd been part of, family associates – all of them were quick to offer their condolences before high-tailing it out of his life. Social services had Kiku until they deemed her old enough to transfer into his care (not that that mattered to Hiroto, just another mouth to feed and clothe and he couldn't say he'd felt much for the youngest Koyama anyhow, her being a baby and all), but in terms of checking up on the older two Koyama siblings? Keep dreaming._

 _For good or ill, they could only depend on each other now. And perhaps the worst part of it? Hiroto could_ feel _how the daily mountain of stress was changing him into someone neither of them could recognise - him, the person who'd never bowed to a peer pressure during school or backed down from something he wanted to do, was suffering the indignity of being worn down little by little by this bullshit. How did he even begin to tell her that, huh? When he was the only strong one left. Maybe even the only strong one to begin with._

" _Oi, c'mon brat, don't cry," Hiroto's request was gruff, but he'd never been gentle by nature – this was as kind as he could manage._

" _Sorry," Shion snuffled, hiding her face in the crook of her elbows._

" _And stop that shit already, don't keep apologising alright?"_

" _Sor…okay, Onii-san."_

" _Look, some guy at work gave me that new horror movie you were on about," Hiroto crossed the tiny room and rooted about in his bag, before returning to the sofa with said movie in tow. "We can watch it tonight."_

" _Really?"_

" _Yeah, so cut out that crying crap."_

" _You got it! It's the one with the giant, killer bees, right?"_

" _Something like that," Hiroto huffed out a laugh at his little sister's recovery period._

" _Nice!"_

 _Hiroto froze, disc halfway in the TV. For a moment then, she'd sounded eerily like their father. He felt his entire chest seize up, squeeze tight. Then he thought once, purposefully 'fuck 'em,' inserted the disc and pressed play._

" _Er, Onii-san, what about school?"_

 _Hiroto craned his neck round so he could see her, the flickering light from the TV making her figure tiny and uncertain pressed up in the corner of the sofa. She needed a haircut. And a bath too. Something other than what hand-me-downs he managed to scrounge from work, wouldn't hurt either._

" _What about it?" Hiroto frowned._

" _Well, erm, it's already pretty late, y'know…"_

 _He raised a brow, watching her squirm for a moment. "You wanna watch it or not?"_

" _No, I do, I do!" Shion rushed to reassure him, even shuffling forward so she could tug him insistently away from the TV._

 _Hiroto snorted, bemusedly allowing himself to be corralled back onto the sofa. They watched the first ten minutes in relative silence, Hiroto struggling to keep his eyes open throughout the dull backstory portion. Ancient curse, vengeful spirits, possessed beehive, nearly every character being borderline mentally handicapped to accommodate the plot – Hiroto didn't watch these things for the storyline. The special effects were pretty good though, he'd give them that – proper workmanship, none of that CGI shit. And glancing over at Shion was amusing at least. Perched at the edge of her seat with one hand fisted in the material of his jeans, her little, round face was scrunched up with concentration. Every now and then, he'd jostle the sofa cushion slightly, just to watch her startle and grin up at him._

" _Ha, that's the money shot!"_

 _The pair of them were watching the penultimate carnage unfold with all the enthusiasm of two sports fans. Shion, in fact, had devolved from actual human speech and was solely communicating through a series of hoots, cheers and increasingly frantic hand gestures. He could kinda get why the little goblin was so into these kind of movies._

" _We're down to the final girl, huh?" in his earnestness, Hiroto had leaned forward in his seat._

" _Yeah, but they're gonna do that thing at the end, y'know after the credits and stuff, where the Queen Bee looks up at the camera and does this," demonstrating 'this', Shion closed her eyes then immediately opened them again complete with cheesy 'dun-duunn' sound effect._

" _Uh-huh…" Hiroto smirked and raised a brow, pretending not to believe her._

 _And Shion, predictably, took the bait. "It's true, it's true! They always do it, Onii-san!"_

" _Nah, I think I'd remember something like that."_

" _You do, you do remember something exactly like that!" she insisted, rising to her knees when her usual gesticulating just didn't seem to convey her utter conviction. "Remember, remember last time when we were watching the one about the….about the, er, I think it was like evil sea sponge thing? Well, when we were watching that and- and you said-"_

 _Finally noticing the gratified grin on his face, Shion slowly deflated._

"… _You're messing with me, huh?"_

" _Aww, poor brat," one huge hand reaching out blindly and ruffled her hair._

" _Onii-san, too rough, too rough, you're gonna turn me bald," Shion whined, squirming under his heavy-handed affection._

 _At that the head pat turned into a head smack, and a smirk at the muffled 'ow' that followed._

" _See, this is the problem," he gestured to the screen, where one of the female protagonists had abandoned escape in favour of inspecting the creepy basement._

" _Yeah, yeah, never go in the basement," Shion nodded, still rubbing at the bruise forming on the back of her head. "Right, Onii-san? There's where all the creepy stuff goes down."_

" _Not what I meant, brat," he huffed a laugh, crossing his huge arms over his equally huge chest and smirking at the escaping woman onscreen._

" _E_ _h?"_

" _Alright, listen up," Hiroto leaned down so they were eye level, struggling to keep the smirk off his face as Shion turned and nodded at him seriously._

 _The unequivocal trust Shion placed in him never failed to amaze Hiroto. He could tell the kid the sky was made from pudding, and she'd believe him._

" _Don't. Get. Distracted," Hiroto stressed. "Always keep your goal in mind and don't let anything side-track you. That's where they always mess up, they lose sight of the finish line."_

 _As if to punctuate his statement, the woman on screen met her demise with a shrill scream._

 _/-/-/_

They said that your life flashed before your eyes when you died. If that was the case, Shion wasn't feeling very reassured by the memory that had surfaced the moment she stepped _out_ of cover and _into_ the bunny's attention. She breathed hard for a moment, trying to formulate the magnitude of the mistake she'd just made. 'Big' was the only answer her frantic mind could supply.

Impromptu of seemingly nothing, the pink bunny jittered into action, its bulbous head ping-ponging between Shion and the body under it while clapping its gloved hands together like an overexcited toddler. Unconsciously, Shion edged a step backwards.

What the hell was she doing? She wasn't a Hero, she didn't _want_ to be a Hero. At least with Fuse, there was some understanding of a line. But with this thing? It'd _stabbed_ a guy. Right in front of her. Literally moments ago.

"H-hey…"

She'd fully intended for it to come out commanding. Maybe a little intimidating - okay, hopefully a _lot_ intimidating. What came squeaking and creeping out her mouth instead, was a noise that resembled a choking cockerel.

Head still cocked to the side, the bunny began to rise slowly, shifting into a crouched position as it went. Shion felt every minute movement along her spine. It wasn't too late to turn back now, right? She could just grab Mashirao and high-tail (pun unintended but happy coincidence nonetheless) it out of here. There was nothing stopping her. Not really. Apart from her own conscience and morals, and the life of some no-name Villain that could have been either of her parents when they were young sprouts making all sorts of ill-advised life decisions. _Shit…_

How important was her conscience to her, anyway? Surely not as important as her aversion to being shanked like some prison snitch. Almost unconsciously, Shion's eyes flicked down to the man at the bunny's feet. He was curled tight into the fetal position, whimpering and shaking and utterly, terrifyingly vulnerable. Was she seriously willing to gamble her life on this faceless stranger? Not just any stranger, but a stranger who'd presumably been perfectly willing to injure fifteen-year-olds for a paycheck. Had the positions been reversed, Shion had no doubt in her mind that he would have been just dandy with leaving her and Mashirao to the bunny's tender ministrations. So what the hell did she owe _him_? Besides, his welfare wasn't _her_ responsibility. Yeah, if it had been Kiku, she would have run screaming and wind milling her augmented arms about like some demented battering ram, but this guy…

He must have caught Shion staring because he began slowly dragging himself towards her, silently pleading for help with the one dark eye visible through his reedy hair. _No, no, no, don't do that._ Shion's panicked gaze met his. One pale hand reached out towards her, a plea dropping noiselessly from his trembling lips. Her heart clenched tight with dread. _C'mon, dude! You're gonna seriously do this to me!_ She couldn't look him in the eye and consciously choose to leave him there to die. Not now she'd seen his face and therefore been forced to recognise this person _as_ a person, another human being with his own thoughts and emotions and relationships and - _Shit! This whole thing would have been a hell of a lot less stressful if I wasn't such a goddamn pushover!_

Decision made for her, the next agenda was _actually_ doing something about it. And if the Battle Trial had taught her anything (well, anything that didn't involve her ineptitude, bird poop and/or poor timing) it was that when stuck for a plan, Koyama Shion's secret weapon was distracting her opponent with inane bullshit.

"Y-yeah, you!"

Lifting one shaking hand, she pointed accusingly at the unresponsive cartoon head. The bunny's head whipped about as if searching for someone else, before it jerked a finger at the vest covering its pink spandex chest and cocked its head again. Shion could almost hear the inaudible 'me?'

"Y-yeah," Shion stuttered. "Look, man, I don't know w-what you're deal is, but it'd be pretty cool if you just stopped stabbing people, okay?"

Rising to its full stringy height, the bunny took a step forward over the guy's head. Each step of its booted feet set Shion's heart racing to new dangerous speeds. _Oh shit, okay, okay, oh shit._ But he was coming _towards_ her, and while initially that new development made Shion want to shrink into nothingness, it also meant it was moving _away_ from its potential victim. Purple eyes flicked once more to the prone body. _Please don't move, don't breathe too loudly. Just…just don't screw this up, for both our sakes._

"Yeah, because…because it's dangerous, y'know, running around with knives? _Especially_ near squishy people such as ourselves and, er – holy shit!" Shion yelped as the bunny raised the combat knife she'd been gesturing to.

Slowly, the bunny's head tracked from her to the bloodied knife, to her again. Shion shook her head. Vehemently. She desperately wished she knew what Mashirao was up to, but the thought of taking her eyes off the bubble-headed maniac in front of her was a terrifying impossibility. Suddenly, the bunny clapped both hands to its cheeks. Although it had yet to speak, Shion got the distinct impression that it was gasping with shock. As if the gasp hadn't been weird and hammy enough, the bunny then began scolding the hand still holding the knife with slaps and finger-wagging.

 _What the hell am I supposed to do with that?_

Confusion began to encroach ever so slightly onto pant-shitting fear's territory, widening her ability to think outside of that narrow scope of fear. If she could just keep it distracted, keep it moving towards her, she could grab the two Villains and make a break for it thus avoiding a confrontation altogether. She was fast enough - well, she was pretty sure she was fast enough. At least, she was confident that she could carry two people without impeding her speed. There was no telling what the demented bunny's Quirk was, but she couldn't say she was willing to prod at it until she found out. Shion just prayed it wasn't like Iida's, or some sort of paralysing Quirk or a creepy, instant-kill one possibly involving spiders or clowns or spider-clowns. _You're seriously not helping, asshole._

It was a threadbare plan, at best but it _was_ a plan and, considering the current situation, that was all she could hope for. Now all Shion had to do was tell Mashirao without alerting the loon across from her.

"Okay, okay, _so…_ look, erm, just a brain-fart but why don't we just put down any future murder weapons, yeah? L-like, I don't know what you get up to on a usual day, smearing yourself with jam, chowing down on crayons, collecting possessed doll heads - I dunno, I don't judge," Shion shrugged, lifting both hands before flopping one behind her back.

With the hand behind her back, she scissored two fingers in an attempt to mime running and prayed Mashirao was capable of understanding.

" _But,_ but what I do know is what I would do, y'know? If I was feeling, er…stabby? A-and first of all, I would just not stab anyone, because that's not cool. Instead, _I_ would just _grab_ the, erm, _people closest to me_ and _run like hell_ towards the _nearest exit,_ " Shion stressed. "If you or, erm, _anyone_ that just happened to be in the immediate area understood that that's _what I am,_ shit no, _would do in this situation_ , then…give me a sign?"

The bunny did not react. Shion tensed her legs, scanning the distance between herself and the injured Villains then the exit. _C'mon Ojiro-kun, please. Please._ At the sound of the small cough behind her, Shion almost physically wilted with relief before quickly glancing at the bunny. The pink abomination hadn't moved from where it was, still watching her like a puppy would its master.

 _Okay, okay, c'mon it's go time. Move. Move!_

Before her resolve could give out, Shion threw herself forward, head down and legs pumping at eye-blistering speeds as she sprinted. Her stomach gave out, sweeping far behind her as her hammering pulse pushed her on. _Quick, quick, gotta be super speedy here or we're all dead._ She weaved past one abandoned car, vaulted herself onto the hood of the second and, without slowing, used that as a base to leap across the road between herself and the island. The augmented muscles in her leg bunched, fisting closed tight and impatient, before snapping out as Shion unbent her legs and took to the air.

The road was cleared in one blink. In another blink, she cleared the island and the bunny hopping excitedly about from leg to leg and waving eagerly. Shion could feel the soot-soaked gasp of breath trapped in her throat, bobbing precariously at the apex of her chest as she swung her legs forward for the landing. One foot thudded down onto the top of the platform, gravity dragging her knee down with it. The other foot followed, skidding to a stop in a crouched position. Then Shion's upper half swung forward like a pendulum, her braced knees and hands the only thing keeping the soft underbelly of her jaw from the hard pavement. She'd learnt her lesson in regards to landings and keeping balance after crossing the Fukuoka River on Saturday, and it was not a mistake she intended to make twice.

The bunny was less than five steps away now. Shion could see all the little nicks decorating the soles of its combat boots, could smell the kerosene and caster sugar stink of it. The little, fine hairs on the back of her neck rose up like agitated spirits escaping their graves. But Shion kept her eyes on the prone body just behind the bunny, and only there. This time the voice in her head sounded like Hiroto. _Focus, Shion, keep your eyes on the goal. Don't. Get. Distracted._

Keeping low, she sprinted the first few paces, pushing forward with enough speed and power that the lip of the first step cracked under the force of it. Her mind was a thin razor wire of purpose and fear, her eyes stinging and heart spasming widely in her chest. When she was level with the bunny's legs, Shion planted a hand on the over-heated stone of the platform, swung her legs forward like a gymnast dismounting and torpedoed herself past the bunny. Pushing through the air resistance, she reached out with both arms to snag the injured Villain, finally latching her fingers onto his coat and tugging him desperately towards her.

It all happened in the matter of seconds. So quickly in fact, that Shion's mind was left scrambling to correlate itself with the warmth of the body cradled to her chest. She skidded across rest of the platform like a hockey puck, shooting past so fast that the flaming buildings were nothing more than blurs of oranges and golds in the very corners of her vision. Before she could go flying off the platform altogether, Shion was snatched to a stop when her butt contacted hard with the edge of the steps on the other side. She tumbled down the platform's steps before she could wrangle her feet under her again, all sorts of aborted curses bubbling up behind her lips.

Finally splayed out at the foot of the island with her legs cooking on the road surrounding it, Shion coughed and blinked with disbelief. Slightly bruised, maybe, but with all her limbs intact and the injured Villain in tow. _Holy shit, I actually did it! We're alive!_ A muffled groan from the body splayed across her chest soon reminded Shion that if she wanted to _remain_ that way, she'd better keep moving.

Inhaling shakily and mindful of her delicate cargo, Shion shoved herself to her feet again. The second Villain was splayed across the hood of a burnt-out jeep just a little to the left of the exit, unresponsive but hopefully just unconscious. _Hopefully._ With her Quirk activated, Shion could cross that distance in mere minutes. In the likelihood that the bunny still remained strictly a spectator – and considering its inactivity so far, there was no reason _not_ to believe that – she could grab the second Villain, deposit both inside the safety of the U.A. gate and make a dash back for Mashirao (if he wasn't hot on her heels already). _Yeah, yeah, okay, I can do that. C'mon, Shion, it's just running. Even you can't screw this up._

Instinctively, she glanced back over her shoulder as she took off again. Only for a moment, but it was enough for Shion to spot the bunny lifting both gloved hands to its head. Maybe, it was going to take off the mascot outfit? With this heat, it must have been burning alive in there. Except, in yet another bizarre mime, the bunny only swivelled its head around, so the cartoon rabbit face was now _facing_ Shion like a scene straight out the Exorcist. Had it been anyone or anything else, she would have found the whole thing ridiculous. When _the bunny_ did it, however, Shion picked up her already frantic pace. It might be crazy and weird and probably living out some messed-up Disney fanfiction, but the bunny had proven itself to be a dangerous-brand of crazy and weird.

Within seconds, she was at the car and juggling her current passenger over her shoulder, so she could scoop up his partner. _C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!_ The woman stirred slightly, weakly pushing at Shion's hands and whimpering like a wounded animal. With an aborted noise of frustrated terror, the blonde gave up on the softly, softly approach and just slung the woman over her shoulder. Her eyes were already darting towards the Conflagration Zone gates, her feet and legs already curving towards safety, when she heard it.

 **CLICK**

The bunny clicked its fingers.

There was a sudden, awful sense of weightlessness, that anchorless feeling she usually experienced before the drop in a roller coaster. Her gut dipped and flinched. Thought was suddenly swallowed by a split-second of helpless fear.

Then Shion could no longer feel the concrete under her feet or the weight of two bodies on her shoulder, only a pressing pressure against her stomach. For one baffled moment, she breathed in the BO and smoke of the horned guy's jacket, felt the material latch onto the sweat of her face, and realised dimly that somehow their positions had been reversed. _She_ was now slung over _his_ back with the female Villain draped over his other skinny shoulder.

Shion blinked dumbly. _What? What, what, what?_ That was as far as her train of thought was allowed to progress, because not a second later the horned Villain was crumpling under her weight like wet paper. He listed to the right as he fell, smashing his shoulder against the jeep's bumper and sending Shion tumbling across the very bonnet she'd just rescued the second Villain from.

 **CLICK**

Again, the scene changed. Suddenly, it wasn't the horned Villain leaned against the jeep's bumper. It was the bunny. And that bunny was spinning a hunting knife in its gloved hand with a palpable sense of malicious glee. _Wait, wait, no, no, no!_ Shion was too busy trying to get her legs and arms to co-operate quick enough, to bother with anything optional like screaming or praying, or swearing a hell of a lot.

Before the bunny could even grab a hold of her, a white shape came swinging into view and delivered a roundhouse to the bunny's shoulder, effectively forcing the demented cosplayer back several steps and (more importantly) away from her. With a twist of his torso, the kick was immediately followed by a palm striking out with snake-like speed to make sharp contact with the bunny's wrist. Although the bunny didn't make a sound, Shion could tell that that had _stung_ – if only by the way the pink mascot's body scrunched tight and it ignored the hunting knife slipping through it's now numbed fingers. The tail clued Shion in on the mysterious figure's identity way before his voice (or the process of elimination) did, the appendage rising up behind him as he shifted into another fighting stance and eyed their assailant warily. Ojiro Mashirao. Or Shion's very own Kung-Fu Saviour. Like Jesus with a Black Belt and a working razor.

Now it looked like she wasn't in any immediate danger of getting poked full of holes, Shion shoved herself off the bonnet and kneeled down to check on the two Villains. Thankfully, neither of them seemed any worse for wear after the violent switcheroo.

"Are you okay, Koyama-san?" Mashirao called out, not daring to look over his shoulder.

"Nice! That was some serious Bruce Lee shit, Ojiro-kun!" Shion shakily enthused, rising up from where she'd been crouched over the two Villains to grin at his back.

"Erm…thanks? But you never answered my question."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, sorry, I'm fine," Shion waved him off. "But listen, it's got some kind of teleporting Quirk that switches people's-"

 **CLICK**

"-places," Shion finished lamely.

Seeing the bunny's Quirk in action as a spectator instead of a target was an altogether depressing experience. Too fast. A click of its fingers and Mashirao was gone – no black mist, or portal or any other sort of delay Shion had come to expect from teleporting Quirks. It wasn't fair. How the hell were two fifteen-year-olds meant to combat something like that.

Just, 'click' and the bunny was closest to Shion where Mashirao _had_ been standing while the tailed wonder, still experiencing the acute disorientation that came with suddenly being bodily shipped from one spot to another, stumbled behind them.

The bunny raised one arm to block, then -ducking low- the bunny's other hand reached out for the discarded hunting knife as it swept upwards, leaning into the movement with the opposite arm still raised to guard its head. As it swung towards her, the hunting knife spun in its hand, switching grip on the handle so the bladed edge was pointing up towards Shion's unprepared, vulnerable face. The whole movement was fluid, arcing, almost graceful – nothing like Mashirao's controlled, precise strikes or Shion's heavy, hard-hitting blows (whenever she _did_ manage to land a blow). And all of it was dripping with an undercurrent of _intent_ that Shion was wholly unfamiliar with.

 _Get it away from me, get away, get away!_ Perhaps it was that thought that forced Shion's body into instinctive action. An augmented fist curled, her weight shifting onto her opposite foot as her body leaned into the flow of the movement, aiming low under the mascot's guard for an uppercut directed primarily at its stomach. There was none of her usual reservations when Shion let her fist fly, none of that restricting trepidation. Just animal fear.

The punch that followed exploded through not only the suffocating casket of panic that had spurred her into action in the first place, but (in a much more literal sense) the bunny's armoured vest with a resounding 'crack' that set Shion's teeth rattling in her gums. The bunny's legs spasmed as Shion's fist spiked through the Kevlar like a hammer on a salt block. Then, with a grunt of exertion, the bunny was airborne.

Still operating on some sort of primitive 'screw you' instinct, Shion bunched her hand around one of the bunny's arm while the creep was still literally up in the air. Apparently, there were unforeseen advantages to having a baseball obsessed older brother. Namely the ability to hurl psychotic cosplayers clear across two roads and the island in-between them like she was sending its ancestors' a fastball. Mashirao _just_ managed to dive out the way as the bunny rocketed past him, glancing back at his temporary teammate with shock and not a small amount of horror. _Hiroto_ , at least, would have been proud. Probably would've got a laugh out of her big brother too.

 **CLICK**

Shion didn't even have the opportunity to shake her aching fist out and contemplate her possible manslaughter before the awful, stupid, _maddening_ noise sounded yet again. The bunny was no longer hurtling through the air. Oh no, now it was the horned Villain shrieking as he plummeted towards the first story windows of a burning prop building and, presumably, a fiery grave.

" _Shit!"_

Shion sprinted. Mashirao was shouting something behind her, but she couldn't hear him over the blood in her ears. She cleared the island steps in two leaps. The horned Villain was just ahead of her, still screaming and rapidly losing altitude. She wasn't going to make it. In a last desperate bid, Shion threw herself towards the Villain with arms outstretched. Hot air pushed up through the shorts of her playsuit and pressed wetly against the underside of her chin. Fingers grazed the material of his jacket, then met arms then torso. She latched, curled around him, felt her stomach slush up between her ribs. But she had him, _she had him._ There was barely enough time to tuck him tight against her chest and spin her body before they made hard, unforgiving contact with the prop building.

And then there was resistance against her back (glass window), there was that resistance breaking _across_ her back (smashing through said window thanks to a combination of the weight of her augmented muscles and the force of their momentum), and finally there was _scraping_ and _heat_ and _ow, ow, ow, shit that hurts that hurts that hurts_ (the after effects of smashing _through_ a window into a burning building).

Coughing and eyes watering and squinting against the heat, Shion blearily dragged her head from where it'd been tucked against her chest. A brick wall had banked the pair's rapid slide across the glass strewn floor, but that was little comfort when her entire body felt like one big, crispy bruise. The black smoke was blinding, but Shion was somewhat relieved to find that U.A. had regulated the fire only to possible points of entry so she might choke to death long before she was barbequed. Small mercies.

"Yo, you alright?" Shion murmured, slumping into another coughing fit soon after.

"…No," came the watery reply. It was like something in him had come unplugged because the statement was soon followed by a scratchy wail.

"It's all gone to shit, everything's gone to shit! We're gonna die! That freak's gonna kill us all!"

"Hey, hey, hey! C'mon, man, it's gonna be okay," her reply was equal parts exasperation and sympathy. "Just…er, be cool, yeah?"

As much as she'd like to – and she'd really, _really_ like to sit here and feel sorry for herself…well maybe not here _exactly,_ but somewhere that ideally wasn't on fire – they hadn't got time to throw themselves a pity party. Mashirao was still out there, on his own against that psychopath. Not to mention the already wounded Villain still lying unconscious near the jeep. _T_ _here's too much going on, we can't – no, stop, okay, okay, you can do this._

As much as she wished she could of rewound the past twenty minutes and decided to _not_ engage the maniac outside (or better yet, rewind to the morning so she could've pulled a sickie and avoided the entire field trip altogether), she couldn't. They'd already dived headfirst into shark-infested waters, and the only safe direction Shion had left was forward.

First, she needed to get herself and the horned Villain out of the building. Groaning, she shoved herself to her feet before reaching down to scoop up her human cargo. She squinted into the smog until she could just make out the shape of the broken window where most of smoke was escaping. Picking her way over a carpet of glass shards, Shion could just see the vents lining the walls where the fire seemed to be coming from. She readied herself for the inevitable pain, tightened her arms around the horned Villain and (hacking as she went) ran directly through it. It hurt because, of course, it hurt she'd just _ran through a wall of fire_ , but her augmented muscles cushioned the worst of the damage at the loss of a few extra layers. Extra layers that Shion needed to feel in anyway capable when facing off against some deranged cartoon mascot.

Mashirao was involved in some sort of kung-fu ballet with the bunny, disarming and blocking with increasing desperation when the bunny used its Quirk to switch places and rearm itself again. The tailed teenager aimed some sort of spinning kick at the bunny's head, but with a click of his fingers the pair switched places again and Mashirao was forced to side-step the knife's flashing teeth as soon as his foot hit the floor. A slap of his tail put some limited precious space between them, but no sooner had Mashirao readied himself, the bunny was advancing yet again.

It was impressive that Mashirao had been able to hold him off single-handedly for this long, un-armed and (if she was being brutally honest) out-Quirked. Even Shion understood how much concentration the poor dude had to be employing, since it would only take one small mistake for the bunny to capitalise on the opening and slip his knife through. Still…maybe she could just leave them to it? Mashirao looked like he could handle it for a while longer, long enough for her to get herself and the Villains out of the bunny's range, at least. And she could always come back for him. _Provided he wasn't riddled with holes by then, huh? Oh yeah, Shion the Big Cowardly Bastard leaves poor tail-dude to get shanked because he 'looked like he could handle it'._ No, leaving him here while she made a hasty escape would have been as good as killing him.

What she needed to do was get Mashirao out of here. She needed to get _all_ of them out of here…she just didn't know how yet, and every second she hesitated was a second wasted. _Hang on! Wait, wait, wait…'all of them'._ Shion's eyes jerked from the Villain that was currently dangling bridal-style from her arms, to the unconscious lady Villain still crumpled up near the Jeep. Maybe if she got those two out of the way, there'd be a lot less to worry about and it'd take out two people the bunny could swap them with? That _had_ to count for something, right?

But how to get them out of the way, without abandoning Mashirao? It wasn't like she could call them a Taxi, unless - no, no, she definitely could _not_ call them a Taxi. _Hang on, Taxi, Taxis are cars, and there are plenty of cars lying around here. Maybe I could_ make _a Taxi! Holy shit, I think I just had a half-decent idea!_

Step 1) Bundle her human cargo into one of the abandoned cars (ideally one with wheels still left intact).

Step 2) Push car directly towards the knife-happy bunny rabbit.

Step 3) Changes depending on the circumstances. If the bunny used his Quirk to switch positions with the horned Villain then she could just toss the car, hopefully giving her enough time to proceed with Step 4. If the bunny switched positions with her then she'd just push the car back, hopefully trapping it under the back wheels. If it did neither, she was going to run the little turd over and proceed with…

Step 4) Grab everyone, make a mad dash for the exit and rejoice in the world's inability to murder her.

The main problem with the plan was, for the perhaps the first time since her Quirk materialised, Shion wasn't entirely sure she had the strength left to execute it. Her desperate leap through the wall of fire had sloughed off a good portion of her top layer of augmented muscles, leaving a singed disproportionate mishmash behind.

If there was one good thing about her indecision, it was that it had given her enough time to catch her breath. _Are you actually coming up with upsides to being a lazy coward, is that how badly you don't want to do this?_ With both time and her limited nerve rapidly unravelling beneath her, there was nothing else for it – she'd have to try at least. Shion sprinted towards the nearest mostly-intact car and, after wrenching the driver's door open, bundled the horned Villain inside. Rounding the car again, Shion shoved her shoulder against the warm metal of the boot and _pushed._ A creak. Tyres spinning on the cooked tarmac. Shion threw her full weight into it. For a long, worrying moment, her shoes just slipped and scrambled until _finally_ something seemed to hook and lock and eke tentatively forward. Her breath gushed out.

Shion gritted her teeth but, honestly, once the car _started_ moving it felt a hell of a lot easier. True, shoving it up the island's steps had tested both her knees and her imagination when it came to swear words (if she ever lived through U.A., Shion doubted her chances of becoming a PG-13 Hero), but she'd damn well managed it. As they crested the island, Shion's eyes (tight with effort and barely restrained fear) met the horned Villain's wide-eyed stare through the rear-view mirror. The car's front wheels teetered on the edge of the steps on the other side. _Oh...okay, okay, we're actually gonna do this._ She tried for a reassuring smile, but she was pretty sure it looked like she had wind.

"Ojiro-kun!"

The blond looked up, seconds before the bunny did.

"Ready your tailed ass!"

And with that eloquent battle cry, Shion pitched both herself and the car down the stairs. Mashirao understood almost immediately (which suggested he could moonlight as some sort of 'moron whisperer' if this Hero business didn't work out). The bunny, however, was not so fluent in the ancient language of reckless stupidity. It only stood there for a moment, as the car came clattering and shrieking and rushing towards him like a scrap yard spirit of vengeance. Sparks gathered and blew out along the car's rusted bumper, each step jostling it loose little by little, and still it galloped on.

 **CLICK**

Shion had been expecting it, so only grinned when the bunny switched places with the horned Villain minutes before the inevitable collision, leaving it in the driver's seat while the horned Villain now stood swaying in front of the rapidly approaching car. _Now all I have to do is toss the car and – oh. Oh. No, no, no, no!_ Awful, cold realisation dropped within Shion and kept dropping. Those few extra layers of augmented muscle. Those _vital, missing_ extra layers of augmented muscle she _needed_ to crush or toss the car before it smeared the switched Villain under its wheels. She couldn't even budge the car enough to change its direction, nor did she have time to sprint round and pluck the Villain out of the car's warpath.

"Ojiro-kun!" she pleaded desperately.

Mashirao reacted almost instantly, darting forward to pluck the horned Villain around the waist with his tail while his hands splayed out towards the impending bonnet.

"Push, Koyama-san! Push!"

"But-"

"It's okay! I've got this!"

Shion did as she was told, although the car needed very little encouragement. At the last possible second (and, more importantly, before the bunny could click his fingers and mess everything up again), Mashirao dived out of the way, taking the Villain coiled up in his tail with him. Still the car sped on, narrowly missing the Mashirao's booted feet. With a final grunt of effort, Shion gave it one last shove.

It was a moment that would be relayed to Kiku much later with many violent adjectives and explosive hand gestures, and the word 'pssch-pow!' repeated when both the former two failed to illustrate the magnitude of how very, _very_ satisfying it was to watch that beaten-up car smash against that mock-building. The front folded inward, crumpled completely. It was deceptive in the fact that what Shion _knew_ had been real, solid metal looked no more durable than a tin can when shoved face-first through a brick wall. Although, that perhaps wasn't entirely fair, considering the car managed to shatter its way _through_ said brick wall – back wheels slightly elevated as the very front of the car disappeared entirely under a mound of dislodged rubble. Of course, disturbing the integrity of the wall came with unforeseen (slightly brilliant, a vindicated part of Shion's mind supplied) consequences. As she'd discovered earlier, the fire vents U.A. used to maintain the 'burning' part of their burning buildings were all located around the perimeter of the interior. Meaning that, by running the car through the wall Shion had managed to disturb one of the vents, which was now liberally dousing one side of the rusted death-trap with jet-propelled flames. Not enough to cook anyone (hopefully), but certainly enough to deter the bunny inside from opening any doors.

Shion stared, open-mouthed, at the damage.

Shion pivoted to stare, open-mouthed, at an equally flabbergasted Mashirao.

Then she started laughing with equal parts relief and mounting hysteria because _they'd run a car through a wall, accidently set it on fire and we're all going to go home safely and holy shit, I'm was so telling Kiku about this when I get home!_

Ever-dutiful,Mashirao had begun tending to the Villains straight away, while Shion seized the opportunity to catch her breath and shake out her aching limbs.

"Easy, easy," the tailed teenager murmured to the horned Villain as he carefully eased him into the relative safety tunnel entrance.

Shion nipped back to grab the Villain's female partner, trying (and probably failing) to be as gentle as Mashirao had been. The female Villain, whose face was mostly obscured by some sort of modified scarf that connected to her food, didn't stir at least – but she was also unconscious so that probably wasn't the best indicator of Shion's handling. Still, as ungainly as her Quirk made her, there was no way Shion was deactivating it until she was _positive_ they'd been given the all clear.

"Is she…?" the horned Villain breathed, his voice choked and watery.

"Yeah, she seems okay," Shion murmured, giving him a smile and a thumbs-up. "I mean, I'm not a doctor but she's breathing, y'know."

The horned Villain didn't verbally reply to this, still looking morosely at his (literal) partner in crime. Shion didn't know what to do, her usual defence against awkward, intimate moments was making farting noises with her mouth, but given present company she wasn't too sure how that'd go down. Ideally, she just wanted to get out of here, but she couldn't leave until everyone else did and Mashirao apparently wasn't budging until the Villain had had his moment.

Standing and shuffling awkwardly for a moment, Shion desperately tried to latch onto a thought that didn't immediately betray that she had the emotional maturity of a Babybel.

"I'm gonna go check on the…yeah…"

What she'd _meant_ to say was 'car'. What she actually _did_ was keep her eyes on her shoes, mutter something intelligible then jerk her head repeatedly towards the wreckage in a way that suggested she was trying to eat her shoulder.

Despite this, Mashirao (who'd already proven to be a 'moron whisperer') understood.

"Hang on a second…should we? I mean, is it wise to go over there?" he asked, dark eyes glancing apprehensively towards the abstract joining of car and building.

'No' was the resounding, immediate answer, but the resounding, immediate answer also involved possibly leaving a guy for dead and that didn't sit right with her either. Not _completely,_ anyway. It wasn't like she'd intended to go up and pull the bunny out of the wreckage, but she'd planned to throw a rock at the window and see if something moved, at least - maybe poke it in the eye with a stick. Under Mashirao's questioning stare, even that faint compassion puckered and dried up.

Besides, he was probably almost definitely right, anyway. Going over there (on her own because as far as she knew none of the others were suicidal), then promptly getting switched out for the bunny and left to suffocate or overheat in that big, metal coffin like overcooked cheese; was more than likely a bad idea. There was no way she could argue the pros in that situation - not that she'd _want_ to. And least she forgot, psycho-killer over there had just been attempting to psycho-kill _them._ That was not the kind of person you checked on…unless you were a parole officer or something.

"No, probably not," Shion grinned crookedly, rubbing a sweaty hand across her neck.

Mashirao's dark eyes flick from her to the car and then back again, obviously trying to rearrange some mental math until the equation made sense.

"Were you…were you going to check if he's okay?" Mashirao blinked, his expression both surprised and completely non-judgemental which had generally been oxymorons in Shion's life up until this point.

"Erm, sorta? I dunno," she wobbled.

 _C'mon, Ojiro-kun, cut me a break here and stop asking about it. Please…_

"I mean, er, he…she…whatever that thing is could die in there, right? And its 50 shades of batshit crazy, but I don't want to _murder_ anyone," she trailed off with a cough, before very deliberately trying to laugh it off again. "Ah, no worries, though. It's not a big deal or anything."

"Should leave the bastard for dead," the horned Villain hissed, still slumped against the wall and now glaring at them both venomously.

"We'll keep that in mind," Mashirao shifted to smile placating at him.

Although his original facial expression at the horned Villain's words had been clearly wondering why this dude thought himself qualified to give out life advice.

"And Koyama-san?" Mashirao turned back to her, smile more genuine this time if a little hesitant. "The fire vents probably aren't hot enough to seriously damage him, but you're right, we should make sure he's not seriously injured at least."

"Right, cool, okay," Shion nodded, a little bewildered that Mashirao hadn't outright laughed or dismissed her concerns instantly.

"Besides, I think I've got a pretty good handle on his Quirk's weakness now…although I'm not _entirely_ sure yet either," despite starting out with a firm business-like tone, Mashirao's confidence wavered again towards the end and he even sheepishly massaged his neck.

For a blissful moment, the horned Villain was silenced through the sheer power of his frustration and disbelief before he erupted in a tantrum.

"You guys are honestly going over there? Are you _retarded?_ What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Er, with all due respect-" Mashirao started, smiling self-consciously and holding up his hands in an assuaging gesture.

Shion, however, was more than a little irritated by the Villain's tone. _Especially_ because Mashirao was a big reason (perhaps the _only_ reason) any of them had made it out of there alive. For the moment, she wasn't sufficiently riled to _really_ put herself out on a limb, but there was a definite hard wedge working itself into her chest.

"Yo, relax," she frowned. "No offence, but you're acting kinda like a dick; Ojiro-kun saved your ass just now."

If anything, the other blond coloured further at Shion's barked words, "it's fine, Koyama-san, we were only-"

"So, _what,_ Plain-Face and Wonder-Abs? Expecting a damn parade?"

"'Wonder-Abs'? I'm not sure whether that's meant to be an insult or you're in awe of my henchness…" Shion's frowned with confusion.

"At least you didn't get 'Plain-Face,'" Mashirao sighed.

"Yeah! Ojiro-kun's got a lot of other stuff going on, come up with better insults!" Shion yelled in a well-meaning but somewhat misplaced attempt to defend the other blonde's deflating honour. "Like the karate thing, and I can come up with _at least_ thirty innuendoes about his tail."

Shion took a step back and squinted, "and, y'know in certain lights, your head is almost perfectly round, Ojiro-kun…like a great, big egg."

"I, ah, appreciate the sentiment, Koyama-san but that wasn't exactly what I meant," Mashirao laughed awkwardly.

"Whatever, it's your funeral," the horned Villain spat.

Although secretly pleased that he'd reconsidered having a confrontation, Shion took another moment to frown at the scowling bag of ass and horns. Attacking Mashirao like that wasn't cool, the guy was fifteen, out of his depth and _still_ he'd done everything he could to save both their bacon. Even when Shion had been perfectly willing to leave, Mashirao had argued in favour of rescuing two people who would have otherwise meant him harm - without any expectation of a reward or acknowledgement. And _this_ was how the horned dude wanted to repay Mashirao's faith? It stunk, but it wasn't like she could do anything to change the ungrateful attitude.

"Come on, let's check on the guy in the bunny suit," Mashirao murmured, turning around and waiting for her to catch up with a chagrined smile.

At least, he was taking the rebuff better than Shion was. She wished she had the courage to tell him how undeserving he was of the brush off or, even better, chew the horned Villain out right in front of him. Jogging over the short distance, Shion consoled herself with the opportune moment having passed in an attempt to squash the little niggle of guilt at her silence.

"So, my theory…" Mashirao began.

"Oh, yeah? You said something about that before," Shion grinned with relief at the change of topic.

"Well, it's just a theory but I was keeping an eye on him…her…it during the entire battle, and I _think_ you have to be directly in its eyeline for its Quirk to activate," he explained, as they picked their way towards the wreckage.

Shion blinked. Replaying much of the battle over in her head, it made sense. The bunny could have outmanoeuvred them plenty of times if he'd switched with the unconscious female Villain while engaged in hand-to-hand combat with Mashirao (who had, presumably, taken up most of its attention at the time while the female Villain was tucked out the way). Or, better yet, just switched Mashirao with the horned Villain when she and the former were trapped in the burning building. In fact, there was a bunch of ways the bunny could have beaten them had its Quirk allowed it a little more flexibility.

"Oh yeah," Shion's pensive expression stretched into a huge grin. "Nice, Ojiro-kun! That hadn't even occurred to me!"

"It's no big deal," Mashirao waved her off.

"C'mon, you must have been fighting _and_ figuring this out at the same time, that's a really, big deal! Give yourself a little credit."

Ears swiftly turning pink with embarrassment, Mashirao ducked his head to hide his smile. _Hey, maybe today wasn't a_ total _waking nightmare._ _Definitely about 99% of it though._

"Also, I'm pretty sure they're deaf because there's no way someone could hear your 'coded' message and not immediately figure it out," Mashirao added with a chuckle.

Shion opened her mouth to protest...before immediately snapping it shut again. He kinda had a point there.


	17. Shion Koyama vs Serious Conversations

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made.

Note:

Thank you all so much for the reviews, favourites and follows! I'm really excited to see what you all think of this chapter (I know some of you have probably worked it out but I'm hoping it manages to surprise a few), parts of it were actually some of the very first scenes I'd pictured when Shion was beginning to take shape. Also, it'll be interesting to see if anyone picks up on Iida's more informal address, or any other little details ;)

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. Having Serious Conversations**

 **.**

" **They're my genes, and those genes are the genes of ass-kicking, y'know!"**

 **\- Hiroki Koyama**

.

"Ready?" Mashirao breathed.

Despite her nerves (or maybe _because_ of them), Shion tried for a grin and a cheery salute, "at your signal, Ojiro-Taichou!"

It wasn't very convincing but Mashirao smiled a little at the gesture nonetheless and launched into a plan of action.

"So, going off my theory, we should be alright if we stay out of his direct eyeline…but the rabbit head is gonna make it hard to predict _where_ his direct eyeline _is,"_ he frowned pensively.

"Okay, _so,_ we could maybe just throw a rock or something and see if he moves?" Shion trailed off with a wince.

"I dunno, I'd prefer not alerting him to our – what was that?"

Mashirao froze and looked about himself nervously, arms half raised in an instinctive but nevertheless useless gesture. A nervous laugh was bubbling up somewhere in Shion's throat. She definitely didn't feel anything, but then again, she was keyed up and sweating out her eyelids and just wanted this whole thing to be over badly enough that she'd willingly ignore a lot at that point.

Shion looked about herself, "what was what?"

"That earthquake just now, you didn't feel that…?" Mashirao frowned at her.

"Er, nope, sorry," she shrugged grimacing. She almost felt bad for disagreeing with him.

"I was sure I…never mind," Mashirao sighed. "As I was saying, I think we should have a backup plan – just in case, it spots one of us."

Previously listening intently, Shion's concentration broke slightly when Mashirao's hands moved to his karate-gi and began undoing it. _Eh?_

"I know it's not ideal, but I was thinking we could hold my shirt between us and that way, if he uses his Quirk, whoever's left can throw it over his head and hold it there to limit his movability. I know it's not great, but it's the best I can come up with right now…"

Ordinarily, Shion would have been tempted to question the effectiveness of this plan – _tempted,_ but ultimately kept her mouth shut in fear of alienating herself from her only current ally. _What about the bunny's mascot head, wouldn't it be too big to get the shirt over? And wouldn't trying to hold it in place leave your torso open to attack? And, while I'm pretty much 100% convinced you were right about his Quirk, it's still not_ confirmed _that the bunny can't switch places with anyone out his eyeline? Honestly, I think you're kinda tired right now, Ojiro-kun, and we should just chill for five minutes until you come up with a better plan, yeah?_

In reality Shion's brain stopped working the moment Mashirao pulled his shirt off. _Eh! What the hell, Ojiro-kun! I thought you were meant to be a modest dude!_ There was a naked chest in front of her. A naked boy's chest. Right in front of her, with boy muscles and everything, and Koyama Shion was more than a little overwhelmed by that fact. It wasn't the _first_ time in her life she'd seen a dude topless – both her father and her brother (being more concerned with their own comfort than mentally scarring any onlookers) took every opportunity to lounge about topless. Considering Shion was _related_ to them, seeing her brother or her father try to unstick dribbled cereal from their pecs somehow didn't register as 'topless guys' in the same way Mashirao did. Mashirao who was both her age and blessed with Karate arms.

 _Crap, I can see his nipples! Argh, what do I do? Well, first you should probably stop gawking like a damn Magikarp! But they're right_ there _, where else am I supposed to look? Oh God, this is like Kirishima-kun's stomach all over again! I'm sorry, Ojiro-kun, have mercy on me!_

"Um, Koyama-san?"

"I-I'm not a pervert!" Shion squawked.

Head bowed with embarrassment, Mashirao's hand instinctively reached up to hide the guilty nipples from view. She could _feel_ the heat coming off her cheeks. _Nice going, Shion, first you called him an egg and now you've even him some sort of nipple complex!_

Before either of the teens could willingly throw themselves into the nearest burning building out of sheer embarrassment, they were interrupted yet again – this time by the far more conspicuous reappearance of fog lights. Shion squinted, crouching as she held one soot-painted arm up over her eyes in an effort to dim the glare. There was a good five minutes where the duo uselessly looked about themselves and at each other, trying to work why the hell the Conflagration Zone's lights had suddenly been turned on.

"Don't worry, sensei's here to look after you~"

Shion hadn't thought it possible for a voice to grope you until the day they met their Art History teacher. Midnight, or Kayama Nemuri on those few occasions she wasn't clad in some sort of leather, was one of the few people that privately terrified Shion. Which didn't necessarily mean Shion _disliked_ the bespectacled woman either.

Although the blonde wasn't sure how the X-Rated Hero had landed a teaching gig (or been _legally allowed_ near a school, for that matter), Midnight was one of the few teachers who didn't feel the need to continuously shove Hero propaganda down her throat. Plus, she was reasonably sure the dark-haired woman could snap the bunny across her knee like a breadstick – if anything, the four policemen warily eyeing the carnage behind her were an unnecessary precaution - and at the moment that alone was enough to endear her to Shion. _We're saved!_

"My, my, what happened here then?" Midnight surveyed the damage, eyes resting on the car with a bemused smile.

"Ah, w-we were defending ourselves, Midnight-sensei," Mashirao answered shakily.

"Yeah! This total loon just started trying to knife everybody," Shion nodded, jogging away from the car and towards Midnight and her thralls – sorry, _accompanying police officers_.

"Hmm," she purred, bright eyes appraising the shirtless teen with a slightly predatory smile, "and only half-dressed? What _have_ you two been up to?"

Blushing to an almost unhealthy degree, Mashirao was rendered incapable of human speech. Shion wondered if she should poke _him_ in the eye with a stick, just to see if the poor guy was still functioning. Until, that is, she realised that _she_ was also included in that insinuation.

"W-whoa! Hey, let's just chill our beans here, sensei, we weren't doing anything y'know… _s-sexy_! No sexy stuff!"

"No need to get worked up, I'm only teasing you," Midnight winked mischievously.

Mashirao's swallow sounded almost painful. _R.I.P. Ojiro-kun._

"We found your little friends near the entrance, is there anyone else I should know about?" Midnight continued as if Mashirao wasn't currently experiencing a minor stroke.

"Yeah, er," Shion began uneasily. "There's the crazy dude I told you about, but we trapped him in that car."

Midnight's painted lips curved into a pleased smile. "I see."

"It's got this Quirk where it switches people's places, so, er…be careful, Midnight-sensei," she finished rather lamely.

"Oh, I don't imagine he'll cause me any trouble."

And with that Midnight approached the car, promptly rendered the Villain unconscious and generally commandeered the entire situation. Shion and Mashirao were briefly checked over by the police, but the latter's attention was mainly focused on simultaneously arresting and healing the two Villains left near the entrance (who Shion doggedly avoided eye-contact with). The Karate enthusiast was a hell of a lot more comfortable talking to the officers than their scantily clad teacher – to Shion's relief. The questioning was quick and impersonal, and she let Mashirao to do most of the talking until the policemen sent them off to where the rest of Class 1A had been corralled near the USJ entrance.

Deactivating her Quirk felt like a cleansing experience. Only now did Shion realise that she wasn't as scared as she had been on Saturday. Yeah, she'd been at the brink of soiling herself a couple of times, but it helped that _this_ time she hadn't been pursued by Heroes and/or the police. A large part was also down to Mashirao's calming influence. Sure, he was only fifteen and about as experienced with fending off an assailant as she was. Yet despite all that he'd taken control of the stressful situation, he'd asked her if she was okay, and he'd backed her up whenever an opportunity presented itself. Somehow knowing that she hadn't been _alone_ in this was like knowing that it couldn't completely overwhelm her.

Except, Shion didn't know what to do with the realisation. How do you thank someone for something like that, without simultaneously betraying your own fear? Absolutely terrified was not an emotion Shion wanted the rest of Class 1A to see.

"Hey, Koyama-san, you okay?" Mashirao glanced across at her as they walked. "You've gone quiet."

"Huh?" Shion blinked, then grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, I'm good, y'know! Do you think everyone else is okay?"

While it _was_ an effort to redirect Mashirao's attention away from her, it was also a genuine worry. She and Mashirao had thankfully made it out okay, but a lot of that had to do with the inattention of the other Villains and the latter's ability to keep his cool. What if one of her classmates hadn't been so lucky?

"Yeah, I'm worried about them too," Mashirao sighed.

They were both silent as they made their way towards the emergency meeting point. Exiting the tunnel into the familiar greenhouse view of the rest of the USJ was a little jarring. The sun was clearly visible through the domed roof, and she took a moment to remind herself that the rest of the world had carried on regardless. _Man, had all that just happened?_ It certainly didn't feel like it had.

"Hey, Koyama-san, I, er, just wanted to say thanks."

Shion blinked away her thoughts to focus on Mashirao's self-deprecating smile.

"For having my back out there," he clarified. "It got kind of crazy, right?"

The nervous laughter that had been bubbling beneath the surface for the past however-many-hours burst out of Shion in an incredulous spurt. Honestly, she wanted to tell him that he didn't need to thank her for squat, but Mashirao's tendency towards understatement had knocked her for a loop.

"A _little_ crazy," she wheezed before devolving into another laughing fit.

"Okay," Mashirao chuckled, rubbing at his neck. "I guess that's selling it sort."

Still doubled over, Shion blindly reached up to pat his shoulder. Hopefully that conveyed everything that was still lodged behind her laughter.

 _Plus,_ it was weird wasn't it? For the most part, Shion had tentatively progressed from considering her classmates as nothing but a gaggle of Hero-wannabes - they were _still_ a gaggle of Hero-wannabes, but now they also had identities outside of that. Privately, she could even admit that she _liked_ the majority of them...with a few notable exceptions but eh, _most_ of her class was still way more than Shion predicted she'd warm to. But liking _them_ and liking what they'd inevitably _become_ were two very different, very separate things in Shion's mind, and the thought of the two distinctions merging made her deeply uncomfortable.

"C'mon, it wasn't _that_ funny," although she couldn't see him through her tears, Shion could practically hear the amused eye-roll in his voice.

Fortunately, by the time they'd made it to the police officers conducting a roll call (Iida was probably spitting over having to hand over his clipboard), Shion's laughter had quieted into something a bit more manageable. She could just make out the teeming cluster of her classmates, purposefully separated from where the Villains were being logged and all seemingly okay from this distance. She didn't see anyone being propped up or carrying their head or anything, anyway.

Still, she was looking for one person in particular as she scanned the group. Eyebrows pinched together in an anxious frown, Jirou Kyoka had boosted herself onto the balls of her feet as she searched over the heads of her taller peers. _What's she looking for, stupid Momo-hime is right next to her, and everyone else is already here, unless..._

 _She's looking for me,_ Shion realised in a warm rush. _She's worried about me._

"Jirou-chan!" Shion called, grinning hugely as she ran over.

"Koyama-chan," Kyoka sighed with relief, lips lifting in a soft smile.

Shion was so happy with the warm reception that her cheeks hurt from smiling. A giddy sort of happiness finally settled the last of the lingering nerves in her stomach like hands smoothing a bedsheet, all previous thoughts of being mindful of the closing distance between herself and Class 1A swept under the affectionate rush she felt at Kyoka's concern.

"A-ha, your prince returns!" she trumpeted, throwing out her arms out dramatically and laughing at Kyoka's embarrassment.

"If you didn't already look and smell like burned toast, I'd probably smack you for that comment," the shorter girl frowned as she eyed the singed edges of Shion's hood.

Shion said nothing, only grinned wider.

"And stop smiling like that, you're freaking me out," Kyoka lifted a brow, though her voice lacked the cutting edge that it might have had a couple of months ago.

"Ha, sorry," Shion chuckled before frowning as she scanned Kyoka for injuries. "You're okay though, yeah?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Kyoka shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal, besides I had Yaoyorozu-chan and…"

In the background, Kaminari straightened and smirked expectantly, already dusting off his jacket in preparation for his heroic entrance.

"…that idiot," Kyoka finished, jerking a thumb dismissively in his direction, "to help me out so it wasn't like I had to take them all on myself."

In the background, Kaminari wilted.

Shion's attention, however, was flicking from Kyoka's indifferent expression, to the dark-haired girl next to her. Honestly, Shion did _not_ like the fact that Kyoka's safety had been helped by Momo-hime of all people. _But,_ her relief that Kyoka _was_ safe far outweighed her distaste towards the other girl, and that kinda left Shion in an awkward position. To thank Momo-hime was like giving the girl some sort of higher ground or leeway that Shion was entirely unwilling to relinquish, but to ignore her efforts was like telling Kyoka that she wasn't bothered about (or at least, willing to gloss over) her well being. So, what was it to be: her dislike of Momo, or her budding friendship with Kyoka? After a few painful moments of narrowed eyes, the latter eventually won out.

"Uh, thanks, I guess…" Shion choked out, unable to even glance in Momo's direction. _Ouch, just saying that hurt._

"There's no need to thank me," equally as stiff, Momo tilted her head in a delicate nod.

Kyoka's dark eyes flicked between them, the twitching upturn at the corners of her lips the only indication that the shorter girl's trying to hold back her laughter. Shion briefly wondered if spontaneous combustion would make her _more_ uncomfortable or less.

"So, that wasn't awkward," Kyoka smirked. "Like, _at all."_

Face heating, Shion tried to keep the irritated scowl from pinching at her brow. _Not helping Jirou-chan._ Thankfully, she was saved from having to dredge up some sort of reply by a nearby detective.

"...Both arms were smashed to splinters, his face is also fractured. Thankfully, he doesn't have any brain damage...but his eye sockets have been pulverized, there's a chance he may suffer long-term loss of vision. Or so I hear..."

"Holy crap, who's he talking about?" Shion breathed.

Kyoka glanced across, expression serious, "Aizawa-sensei, I think."

"Jeez..."

She didn't know what else to say. He hadn't seemed _that_ injured at the time, but then again what the hell did she know. _He got like that keeping us safe,_ the unbidden thought made Shion's fingers twitch. Yeah, it was his job wasn't it, not only as a teacher but a Hero, but...well, crap, Shion didn't know. She didn't know what to make of any of this.

"All Might's injuries aren't life-threatening either," the detective continued. "It's possible that Recovery Girl's healing will be enough for him, so he's gone off to the Nurse's Office."

"And Deku-kun...?" Uraraku shakily asked.

Immediately backed by Iida's bark of, "yes, what of Midoriya-kun!"

 _Eh, Midoriya's hurt? How hurt? Shit, I hope it's not bad! How didn't notice him missing here? What the hell did I tell him about hurting himself, huh?_

"Midori... _ah,_ it seems he also made it to the Nurse's Office in time, and I actually have business there myself," the detective turned to the feline officer besides him. "Sansa-san, I'll leave the rest to you!"

 _That tells me precisely jack-squat about Midoriya-kun, y'know._ Shion's expression slumped, her hand coming up to rub at her neck. _'Made it in time to the Nurse's Office,' made it in time for what, huh? Recovery Girl gonna cellotape his ears back onto his head or something. What if he's really hurt?_

Shion's stomach dropped at the thought. She'd barely spoken to Midoriya, barely knew the guy besides the fact that he's only about her age and didn't seem the type to deserve this. But that raised the question: who did? _Well, if you asked Kiku, she'd probably say that you thought Fuse did_. No, that wasn't what she'd meant at all. She didn't think Fuse _deserved_ to get hurt because she was a Hero, just that getting hurt was one of the occupational hazards of _being_ a Hero and the masked woman had to know that. Plus, Fuse had started it, _she'd_ approached Hiroto. _So, how is that any different that any different from Midoriya-kun or Aizawa-sensei, huh?_ Shion didn't know _how,_ she just knew it _was._ Besides, where did her internal monologue get off bringing that crap up now!

"Yo, Megane-kun?" Shion reached out to tug on the class president's sleeve.

"Ah, Koyama-kun!" Iida straightened to attention, twisting to face her with alarming speed and inspecting her for any obvious injuries. "Are you well?"

"Er, yeah, yeah, I'm good-"

"Fantastic news!" Iida interrupted with a relieved clap, reaching up to adjust his glasses as he continued, "as class president, it's my duty to-"

"Chill, Megane-kun," Shion laughed. "I, er, I just wanted to check on Midoriya-kun? It wasn't... _too bad,_ was it?"

"Hmm," Iida reached up to stroke his chin. "I don't believe so, but..."

It was perhaps the first time, Shion had seen the overzealous class president show anything approaching exhaustion. His wide shoulders slumped, his eyes narrowing past Shion's shoulder, frowning out at nothing. The blonde instantly regretted asking. Iida wasn't a teacher or a policeman, he was a student just the same as her and by all accounts one of Midoriya's closest friends - it wasn't his place to babysit her when the guy was so clearly concerned. _Idiot, look what happens when you open your fat mouth without thinking, huh? What the hell are you doing anyway?_ That was a very, _very_ good question. Shion suddenly didn't want to be there, and didn't know where she wanted to be.

"Shit, sorry, Megane-kun," Shion breathed, breaking eye contact and tapping at her thighs anxiously. "Forget I said anything, yeah?"

Before Iida could rapid-fire another reply, she gave him a grin and trotted back over to Kyoka. The short-haired girl gave her a curious glance but, at seeing Shion's conflicted expression, kept her comments to herself.

/-/-/

"Oi, Jirou-chan, which one am I meant to be switching again?"

The bus ride back to U.A. was far from the somber, reflective atmosphere Shion had been taught to expect post fight. Sure, there were a few classmates doggedly ignoring their chattier peers or gazing silently out the window, but for the most part Class 1A was animated as they regaled one another with blow-by-blows of their individual encounters with Villains. To be honest, Shion had managed to glean most of what had happened to Kyoka through Kaminari's boasting. The shorter girl was surprisingly (or unsurprisingly considering Kyoka's usual disinterest in bragging rights) tight-lipped about the entire thing, answering Shion's questions with statements of fact stripped clean of flowery embellishments.

Still, as blunt as she'd been in regard to USJ, Shion felt (hoped)that _something_ had definitely shifted in their relationship – she just couldn't work out what. Firstly, Kyoka had been the one to instigate conversation as soon as they sat down. Secondly, that conversation had involved giving Shion the invite codes to some Music News app that Kyoka's father had downloaded for her. It wasn't exactly confessing her deepest fears or anything, and if the gesture had come from someone like Uraraka, Shion wouldn't have thought twice about it, but from _Kyoka_ it suddenly felt like something significant - like they'd closed a little bit more of that distance.

"The top right one," Jirou answered without taking her eyes from her phone screen. "It should make a noise every time you change the settings."

"Ah," Shion nodded pensively as she cycled through her options. "Which one have you got?"

In lieu of verbally answering, Kyoka shifted in her seat so the blonde could squint at her screen.

"Nice! I think I'll just get the same one as you," Shion grinned. "Y'know this is pretty cool, Jirou-chan, thanks!"

"Don't mention it," Kyoka shrugged. "It's one of the perks of having family in the Music Industry I guess."

Scared of spooking her by leaping onto that personal bit of information, Shion just stared wide-eyed at the back of Kyoka's head. There was a distinct possibility that Kyoka was baiting her to see if she'd react with the same rabid glee as she had when the shorter girl had first referred to her as a friend. It was imperative that she act cool.

"N-nice, is it cool?"

 _That's it, don't just assume that Kyoka's parents are badass enough to produce such a badass daughter. Just take it easy._

"Is what cool?" Kyoka's lips quirked up and her eyebrows scrunched in bewildered amusement.

"Y'know, having parents and stuff?" Shion shrugged.

Kyoka's dark eyes snapped up from her phone with a palpable sense of panic. Shion just sat there, confused and feeling a little like she'd asked her prior question through a serious of dolphin noises - at least _that_ would explain the staring.

"Er, Koyama-chan, this is probably going to sound insensitive…" Kyoka paused, and Shion mentally finished 'but I'm gonna say it anyway,'. "But I just want to make sure that you don't have parents, right?"

"I…I don't?" Shion frowned, utterly confused.

Kyoka's face was stone, a single drop of sweat beginning to collect at her temple.

Then finally it clicked.

" _Oh!_ H-Hang on, I didn't mean – no, no, no, when I said parents and stuff I meant, it must be cool having parents like yours, y'know?" laughing awkwardly, Shion stood up as she waved a hand in a dismissive gesture.

"Koyama-kun, please remain in your seat!" Iida's order cut across the noise.

"You got it, Megane-kun!" Shion shot the bespectacled class rep a pair of finger-guns, before plopping herself back on the cushions and turning her attention to Kyoka again.

"No, I've got parents, two of 'em in fact," Shion reiterated in a more subdued tone.

"Wow, two whole parents?" Kyoka said drily, though her lips were curved in a smile.

"Yeah, I'm pretty lucky like that," the blonde grinned. "What about you, huh?"

"One and a half."

Shion paused.

"…You're messing with me, right?" she asked warily.

Kyoka only gave her a smirk in reply, looking rather pleased with herself when Shion started chuckling.

"As for the whole famous parents' thing, I dunno…" Kyoka switched her attention to her phone again, except this time Shion got the impression that she was using the device as a shield. "Everyone always asks about that..."

One of Kyoka's fingers came up to fiddle with her earphone jack, and was that? Holy shit, it was! Jirou Kyoka was _blushing!_

Shion wanted to ask, she really did – but asking likely meant losing what little trust she'd earned so far. Kyoka, Shion was learning, was not someone you pushed, she was not someone you could bully or wheedle. She did things in her own time, with a certainty that made Shion half-envious and half-awed. It was one of the things Shion admired most about her ( _now confirmed!_ ) friend, yet it was simultaneously one of Kyoka's traits that caused her the most trouble. Because Kyoka would open her mouth and say something and it'd cut cleanly down the middle of all the wavering bullshit that Shion usually chose to cloak the truth with, and Shion, well…Shion just wasn't equipped with the ability to deal with that. But she could _try,_ maybe.

"Well, uh, we can talk about something else? What do you wanna talk about, Jirou-chan?"

"Not that," Kyoka snorted, before mulling over her options. "How about how you managed to throw a guy across a parking lot?"

"Eh? You heard about that?" Shion laughed awkwardly, regretting her earlier concession.

"Yeah, as soon as Kirishima-kun caught wind, _everyone_ heard about it," Kyoka nodded in the direction of the redhead who was excitedly entertaining his neighbours with tales of Bakugou's fighting skills.

"Oh," Shion didn't know what to say.

As weirdly flattering as having a little positive PR was, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted anyone delving into the mechanics of her Quirk. Not that _Shion_ knew the exact mechanics of her Quirk either, what with her trepidation towards going full barbarian warlord just to find out her limits, but even her limited experience with it had been enough to confirm her prior conviction that she'd been cursed/blessed with Super Steroids. And Super Steroids was neither comforting nor graceful.

"Well, er, there's not much to tell really, he was really skinny dude and kinda short too, now that I think about it," Shion shrugged, doggedly avoiding eye-contact. "It was like catapulting a toddler, y'know?"

"Uh-huh," the smirk was back, along with the teasing glint in her eye.

 _C'mon, think of something to change the subject!_

"Oh man, Jirou-chan! I forgot to tell you, I saw Ojiro-kun's nipples!"

 _Not that, you turd muncher!_

" _That's_ what you've taken away from this entire experience? You're ridiculous, Koyama-chan," Kyoka laughed – _outright laughed._

"Ridiculously good at catapulting toddlers, maybe," Shion wiggled her eyebrows in a vaguely suggestively, mainly demented manner.

The pair lapse into silence again - comfortable for Kyoka who had a predisposition for it, but Shion spent most of those few minutes racking her brain for something to say that wouldn't poke at any invisible insecurities. _So, the parents' fame thing was a no-no (for now, anyway), or was it just the fame thing in general? It's not like I can ask. And I really, really don't want to rehash the whole 'gee whiz guys we could have actually all been murdered a couple hours ago' subject like everyone else seems perfectly cool with doing, but I don't want to sit here staring at her like a creep either._

"Hey," Kyoka murmured, eyes widening slightly when the blonde instantly jolted to attention. "So, I, er, was wondering…do you want to go watch a movie or something next Saturday?"

Shion gaped for longer than was socially acceptable. Or wise, but 'wise' was not an attribute that had ever been credited to her.

"Um."

"It's cool if you're busy," Kyoka shrugged, forcibly causal. "It's not a big deal."

 _No, no, it_ is _a big deal, my friend. It is a metric shit-ton of deals._

"Sorry," Shion began, with every intention of _not_ freaking out. "I'm pretty sure I died of happiness for a second there, y'know."

 _So much for not freaking out, Shion, way to go!_

"Don't make this weird," Kyoka groaned, though there was something like relief uncurling across her features.

"I am not making this weird," Shion sniffed. "I'm just _politely informing_ you that there's a possibility that I might _literally_ smother you with friendship bracelets."

" _Okay,_ that went from kinda weird to kinda creepy in seconds."

"And _that's_ why they call me Johnny Spaghetti Legs: fastest and creepiest legs in Japan," pouting and framing her face with her hands, Shion winked for extra (and seriously unnecessary) effect.

"Literally no one has ever called you that," Kyoka chuckled. "Ever."

"You don't know that, it could be my Hero name!"

" _Oh yeah_ ," Kyoka smirked and rolled her eyes. "I can just see it now, 'save me Spaghetti Legs, you're my only hope'."

Shion cracked up at that (mostly because Kyoka had kept up the same deadpan tone throughout), and it was a while before she could breathe again without devolving into another laughing fit.

"So, if we tunnel through all that shit-" she began when she was relatively under control again.

"Nice mental image," Kyoka snarked.

"What I'm trying to say is that yeah, I would, y'know, like to go to the cinema. With you, I mean. On Saturday. Although if you wanna go now, we could always wiggle out the back window or something."

There were a lot of things Shion _wanted_ to say at that moment. Things like: I'm sorry if I'm coming on too strong (I know I _must_ be) but I don't know how else to tell you that I've never wanted to be friends with someone as badly as I want to be friends with you, and I'm worried if I just tell you _that_ then I'll ruin it somehow. Or: are you as bad at this as I am? Because it feels like you're not, but other times I get the feeling that you don't know what you're doing any more than I do. Or, the far simpler: do you care about this as much as me? Am I making an absolute tit out of myself for nothing?

But this friendship was fragile, not yet anchored by a shared history or inside jokes or an instinctive understanding of one another ( _'yet'_ a hopeful part of her mind added), and Shion had never done well with fragile things in the past. Held too tightly and they'd broken. Held too loosely and they'd slipped unchecked past her. She'd already forgotten and been forgotten by so many people already.

"Nope, Saturday's cool…thanks, Koyama-chan," Kyoka smiled softly to herself, nodded, and that – to Shion's delight – seemed to be that.

/-/-/

Shion lasted precisely five minutes on the overstuffed sofa before falling dead asleep. The journey home had passed in a blink, as had the following barrage of questions she'd been accosted with the moment she stepped through the door. U.A. had apparently called ahead. While Shion had expected it and subsequently practiced _exactly_ how much she was willing to tell her parents while she'd rested her head against the cool window during the train ride home, she'd been no more prepared for that level of energy after spending most of the day evading a knife-happy maniac. Hanako had finally relented, changing battle tactics from 'Spanish Inquisition' to 'a nice cup of tea and a chat,' and Hiroki had followed at her heel like some muscle-bound corgi.

The next thing Shion knew, she was in bed and it was morning and her body felt like someone had slowly fed it through a wood chipper. Groaning softly, the teen reached a hand up and began the laborious process of forcing herself free from her duvet (a daily struggle and one that only ever resulted in a Pyrrhic victory at best).

Staring dead-eyed at the little puddle of drool collecting on her pillow was kind of an anticlimactic ending to yesterday's desperate…battle? Could it even be considered a battle? Self-defence seemed a hell of a lot more appropriate when you took into account that she'd been touching cloth for most of it, and she suspected most battles did not actively involve the participants near shitting themselves. Well, whatever the hell it was, Shion felt somewhat stumped to discover it was all over. Just like that. Villains attack, life hanging in balance, then boom, the day ended with her curled up in her nest of blankets like it was any other day. Shouldn't she have been pacing all night, keyed up on adrenaline or being bullied from one thought to another? Where the hell were the tortured internal monologues? Where was the paranoia, the lingering fear? Where was her looking coolly out of rain-streaked windows?

Not that she was complaining. Shion just thought that some sort of movie-worthy emotional blowback was due.

Instead, her most pressing concern at the moment was the increasingly urgent need to pee. _Jeez, how long was I out for?_ Unsticking the pillowcase tacking to her mouth, the blonde raised her aching head and fished about the floor for her slippers. She was mid-tugging one free from a pile of dirty laundry, when raised voices registered outside her door. Well, _one_ raised voice, the other being the emotionless tone of Kiku's speech aid.

" **How come she gets a day off?"**

" _Because_ ," Hanako began sweetly with significant strain, "there was some sort of squabble at U.A."

Silence, stamping feet, a door banging open then slamming shut again seconds later. Shion held her breath.

"Honestly, sweetie, don't take everything so personally~" her mother cooed.

" **I'm not."**

More slamming, just to emphasize how Kiku was _not,_ in any way, taking this personally.

" **Is Nee-san okay?"**

 _That_ made Shion blink. For the past week, the Koyama sisters had been carefully avoiding each other, still a little too raw and wary of any other potential damage…in Shion's case, at least. Kiku's silence, on the other hand, had been pointed - _very_ pointed. Pointed enough that Shion had felt it jabbing the back of her head every time she hastily left (read: fled while laughing nervously or mumbling to herself) whatever room Kiku was occupying. Thus far, there had been no signs of reconciliation – once again, on Kiku's behalf, as Shion was perfectly okay with pretending the entire thing had never happened. And knowing that Kiku was essentially a crotchety old man hiding in the body of a small child ( _ew, brain, what the hell_ ), the ten-year-old's stubbornness was only rivaled her inability to reach the top kitchen cupboards.

So, suffice to say, Shion was surprised to learn that her little sister gave a single, solitary fuck about her welfare.

"Shion-chan?" Hanako asked, as if needing clarification. Which left Shion briefly wondering if her parents had some secret deformed lovechild chained up in the attic. _What other 'Nee-san' is there?_

" **Duh."**

 _Jeez, Kiku must be more pissed off than her usual to backchat Okaa-san like that._

Rather than respond with something barbed and vaguely condescending, Hanako's rehearsed, bell-like laughter suddenly echoed through the hall. Shion frowned to herself. She didn't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.

" **Mama, that isn't an answer."**

"Don't worry so much, Kiku-chan~" Hanako's voice was still airy and amused. "Your big sis is just feeling a little worn out, that's all."

Hopefully, her mother was only trying to keep Kiku from worrying herself into another temper, and not _actually_ so blasé about her eldest daughter's well being. Although her mother could be surprisingly callous at times (Shion had seen her reduce hardened traffic wardens to tears on several separate occasions), she'd never directed it near her progeny. At any rate, before she could sort out how she felt about _that_ response, her mother's footsteps were moving away and Shion's door slowly began to creep open.

Instinctively, she feigned sleep. Whether it was her mother or little sister, whoever was creeping into her room came with the intention of making her do _something_ (even if it was lie there and let herself get death-glared) and Shion was not quite ready for that level of high-octane action yet. The feet hesitated by the door for a long moment, spilling a thin bar of light across Shion's room. Not Hanako then - the pink-haired woman never hesitated, only pondered on the rare occasion. _It's gotta be Kiku, probably here to muffle me with a pillow while my guard's down._ Eyes still closed, Shion tensed, waiting for her life to play out like the end of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

"Chop, chop, Kiku-chan, we're already fashionably late~"

A sigh. Another uncertain little hopping from foot to foot. Then the sound of tiny feet running up to her bed and, before Shion could prepare for her imminent demise, scrambling back just as quickly to slam the door closed behind them. Shion blinked in the darkness, straining to hear the muffled 'there you are!' from her mother downstairs and the clunk of the locking system as both mother and daughter left. Only her father's thunderous snoring and the TV still blaring downstairs could be heard. _What the hell had that been about?_ Shion squinted in the darkness, trying to make out the alien shape at the end of her bed. A present from Kiku? At least, she couldn't hear any ominous ticking.

Reaching out a hand, she opened her blinds and squinted in the resulting morning brightness. A lopsided stitched smile stared back at her, drooping slightly from over care. The stuffed frog had lost much of its colour, vibrant green fading to a sickly yellow, its little stethoscope and doctor's coat lovingly worn. Shion knew that face – had, in fact, picked out that very same face for Kiku when she'd been five years old and suffering through a fever. 'Doctor Frog' hadn't left her little sister's side for the duration of the fever (despite Hananko's best attempts to smuggle it into the washer), it had shared Kiku's doses of medicine and slept curled under her tiny arm. _I didn't even know she still had it._ Gently Shion pulled the cuddly toy into her lap.

A sharp bitter sweetness pulled at Shion's chest and she froze, completely unprepared for the swollen intensity of the feeling.

 _Shit, Kiku-chan, what the hell am I supposed to do now?_ The blonde had been under the impression that her little sister was merely days away from locking her in some sort of public stockade so she could throw rotten cabbages or something at her. And this…this completely _destroyed_ that. Exhaling past the sudden lump in her throat, Shion flopped back onto her bed. Was this Kiku's weird, touching way of showing her that she cared? That despite their argument, she was still the little girl that'd smiled through her fever when her big sister tried to cheer her up with a cheap cuddly toy. Or was she looking into the gesture too deeply? Knowing Kiku, Shion probably wasn't looking into it deeply _enough_. After days of icing her out, something so soft and gentle just didn't make sense.

But then again, when had Shion _ever_ been able to make sense of her little sister? For all Kiku's stubbornness, her moods were just as mercurial as the rest of the Koyamas. It was just that the _tone_ of those moods tended to be a little less extreme, and the depth of them a great deal deeper. It had taken time for Shion realise that her little sister just felt things _more_ than most people, every nerve ending open all the time and no ability to control it. Part of it was likely her young age, but Shion had wondered if it had anything to do with Kiku's Quirk being a very real and present barrier between herself and the rest of the world. Rendered mute, Kiku couldn't express herself outwards so her feelings just retracted inwards, bouncing and reflecting off one another in a great, tight tangle of _too much._

Kiku held onto things too, held onto them so tightly it was as if she were afraid to let them go, even when they hurt her. And Shion, who had always been fond of the 'shrug it off and ignore it' method, had been blindsided more times than she could count by Kiku's ability to dredge up some long dead moment or comment that had never truly been laid to rest in her little sister's head. Like a stuffed toy she'd got her on a whim when Kiku was five, rendering Shion utterly powerless in the face of such quiet gentleness. _Great, and now I'm lying in bed on the cusp of crying._

"No, nope, c'mon get up," sniffing once, Shion threw herself out of bed with a renewed purpose.

She wasn't going to ask Kiku, and even if she did her little sister would never tell, so she was just going to hold onto the gesture forever and never tell a soul. Feeling sore and over-exposed, Shion trudged downstairs and tried to distract herself with terrible daytime TV. Predictably it didn't work. Her mind kept flitting back – to USJ yesterday, to the feeling of support she'd felt from Mashirao, to the moment on the bus with Kyoka when it felt like they'd taken a tentative step forward in their friendship, to Kiku and her stupid, wonderful stuffed frog. _What the hell am I doing?_

At first, U.A. had been…what? An instinctive reaction to dealing with her parents' spontaneity by leaning into the swell and letting herself be swept away with little to no resistance. Shion wasn't sure what it was now. There was a slim chance but a chance nonetheless that she could have actually _died_ yesterday. Was getting her mom off her back over some thoughtless comment really worth dying for? She should leave. She should have never even enrolled.

But…

But (and Shion _hated_ that word at the moment) without U.A., she would have never met Kyoka or the rest of stupid, selfless Class 1A. _But_ she didn't know what the hell else she was meant to be doing with her life, never mind what she _wanted_ to do with it. And part of her didn't _want_ to leave, a part that was alarmingly larger than it had any right to be with the very real threat of growing larger still. No, she should think end game here and the end game was shaping up to be Shion in either lyrca tights or a coffin – neither prospect was appealing. It wasn't like Shion could talk to anyone about it, either. Hiroto was a no go thanks to Detective Akihara and the phone pervs – sorry police officers monitoring her, and she already knew what her mother would say.

"Yo!" Hiroki called through a yawn, effectively snapping Shion from the destructive spiral of her thoughts.

"Y-yo!"

Scrambling to look casual, Shion sat upright and grinned. Her father only spared her an odd look before stumbling blearily towards the fridge in search of sustenance.

"Anything on?" Hiroki muttered as he threw himself onto the sofa beside her and commandeered the remote, mouth half full of unbuttered toast.

"I dunno," Shion tried to look as casual as possible.

Hiroki spared her another brief, suspicious look before settling on some sort of game show rerun.

"I was on the doors last night," her father began, most of his attention focused on watching tracksuited contestants face off against some sort of foam blender.

"Oh, yeah?"

To fatten up their haul and appear more passably normal on their bank statements, Shion's parents sometimes took odd bits of work here or there when they felt like it. Hiroki, in particular, had a penchant for bouncing at the doors of ill-reputed clubs. It managed to both satisfy her father's penchant for the holy trinity of Bs: brawling, bragging and booze (the previous 'boobs' vacancy had been effectively cornered by Hanako's over inflated bust).

"Yeah," he grunted around a mouthful. "Quiet night, y'know, there was some kid trying to touch up ladies' dresses but that was about it. Ha, doubt he'll be pulling any of that shit anymore, anyway!"

"Cool."

The TV shut off with a click. Shion startled, shifting to find her father's square face frowning down at her.

"Okay, you gonna tell me what the hell's going on?" Hiroki intoned, voice firm but lacking aggression.

 _Just play dumb._ It wasn't that she didn't _trust_ her dad, it was just that this wasn't the type of problem you came to Hiroki with. Needed protection from muggers? Yeah, sure, Koyama Hiroki was your guy. Chain's come off your bike? No problem. Wanna hug or a piggyback ride? Anytime, no worries. Having a Serious Discussion about how you want to (and maybe also _didn't_ want to) drop out of U.A., because you're kinda _maybe_ quietly having a complete crisis here? Well, _there_ we're going to have a problem. Because Koyama Hiroki thought in straight lines, and Shion's brain at the moment seemed intent on doing anything _but._ If she couldn't even sort out her own tangled thoughts, how the hell could she lay them out for her father's scrutiny?

"Eh? Nothing's up, Tou-san," Shion laughed, waving him off.

"Look, I know I'm not the most observant guy," he began.

Shion almost snorted at that. _Understatement._ Honestly though, his insistence was beginning to irritate her. Couldn't he see that she didn't want to talk about this crap, that neither of them _really_ wanted to have this conversation, so why couldn't he just drop it?

" _But_ , I can tell something's up, yeah?" Hiroki continued, ducking his head so he could catch her eyes. "Is this about those assholes storming your P.E. hall or whatever?"

Seeing an out, Shion took it and hoped he'd leave it at that.

"Erm, yeah?" Shion sighed. "Shook me up a little, y'know."

"It's cool, happens to the best of us, well not _me_ but I'm pretty sure everyone else has had the shakes at some point," Hiroki smiled, reaching out a massive hand to rub affectionately at her blonde hair. "It was scary situation, yeah? So don't feel embarrassed to tell me if you're feeling a little freaked, Shion-chan."

 _Shit, now I feel guilty._

"T-thanks, Tou-san."

"Don't mention it!" Hiroki grinned, reaching down to turn the TV back on. "And by the sounds of it, you were dealing out some beat downs like your papa, huh?"

Shion genuinely laughed at that. Trust her father to fixate on _that_ part of U.A.'s report.

"I guess?"

"You guess? _You guess?_ Nah, you _know,_ Shion-chan!" he beamed down at her proudly. "It's genetic, like male pattern baldness or something - but _not_ because they're my genes, and _those_ genes are the genes of ass-kicking, y'know!"

"Jeez, Tou-san, you gonna write a scientific paper on that?" Shion grinned up at him.

"Damn right, I am!" Hiroki laughed.

They lapsed into silence for a moment. Shion felt slightly more stable beside her father's boisterous affections, like driftwood shored against stone. He really was trying his best wasn't he? There was no doubt that both her parents' loved her, but sometimes Shion felt like she was being raised by a couple of teens. And it was frustrating having to step aside for their egos all the time, but in a way she supposed they _were._ Her mother hadn't even been out of high school when she was pregnant with Hiroto, and while her father was uncharacteristically tight-lipped on the topic of his upbringing from what Shion had gleaned it hadn't been exactly a cakewalk; by all accounts her parental grandfather had been an abusive waste of space, and she didn't dare ask what had happened to Hiroki's deceased older brother least it set the big guy off. Neither of them had really had the chance to become _adults_ before they'd become parents.

But they'd _tried_ hadn't they? They were _still_ trying. ' _They don't give a shit about anyone but themselves,'_ Hiroto's statement lingered. He'd seemed so sure of it, but if it was true then why did Shion feel better (better, but no less confused unfortunately) just having her dad slump beside her and yawn through cheesy game shows. Besides, it wasn't like Shion could do much to change either of their natures and really she was okay with it anyway, for the most part, so why bother? Couldn't she just let her dad make her feel safe without thinking too deeply about the guy's parenting credentials?

"Oh shit, yeah, almost forgot," Hiroki suddenly muttered. "Hana asked if you could pick Kiku-chan up from school today."

"Eh? How come?" Shion's frowned. She wasn't sure how she felt about seeing Kiku in the wake of the morning's emotional landslide.

"We're gonna get her a cat or something for passing her exams, she's been banging on about having a pet for a while now anyway," Hiroki replied distracted. "Gotta go pick it up from the cat store or whatever before she gets back."

" _Eh?"_ Shion bolted upright from her slouch. "When did she have her exams?"

"Last week," he shrugged, before a proud smile stretched itself onto his square jaw. "Did best in her whole fucking _year,_ apparently."

"What? When – why didn't anyone tell me?" Shion breathed, a frantic sort of energy fizzing up her chest.

"Thought Kiku-chan'd tell you," Hiroki side-eyed her.

 _We haven't spoken to each other in a week. And I've missed her exam. And. And it's all my fault._ Slowly all the energy bled out of Shion, and the fifteen-year-old slumped back into the sofa cushions again. She should've just apologised to Kiku. She _did_ apologise to her at the time, but she should've pushed to make sure her little sister understood instead of just keeping her mouth shut out of sheer awkwardness.

Yeah, okay, so Kiku was the one who'd started it by going all Gimli on Shion's already exhausted ass, and part of her chaffed a little that _she_ was the one that had to run around making apologies for everyone else's outbursts again. But was her pride really worth sacrificing her relationship with Kiku over? And, okay, their older brother was a topic that was off-limits, but had Shion made the situation any better by sulking about the house like some sort of wounded animal? After the thing with Doctor Frog this morning… _she_ was meant to be the older sister, right? That meant certain responsibilities, like cheering up grumpy younger siblings even when they didn't deserve it because you loved them really – and Shion had failed emphatically in that duty. _I am the worst older sister in the world._

"Oi, oi, oi! Don't start moping again," Hiroki knocked their shoulders together. "We can't all be eggheads like Kiku-chan, yeah?"

 _Once again, not the point but whatever._

"Yeah, sorry, Tou-san," Shion rubbed at her face. "I don't know what's up with me today…"

"It's not…you know?" Hiroki's eyes darted fearfully towards his groin area, while his daughter sat there with palpable confusion. " _That_ …the tampon thing?"

It took Shion a moment before her face screwed up with disgust and indignation.

"What the hell, Tou-san! _No_ , I'm not surfing the crimson tide!"

"Alright, alright, chill out!" Hiroki pouted and raised both hands in surrender. "Just checking!"

"I don't have to be - urgh, whatever, look I'm going back to bed, okay?"

"Alright," Hiroki breathed with relief. "See ya, Shion-chan."

"Later, Tou-san."

Shion trudged upstairs, head and body protesting at even that minimal movement. Initially, she _had_ fully intended to take advantage of the day off with a well-deserved lie in anyway. Instead she'd spent most of the morning staring blankly at Doctor Frog and sinking again and again into the quicksand of her conflicting thoughts. Attempts to distract herself were short-lived and only served to frustrate her more. Knowing that Hiroki was sitting downstairs, eating his way through the Koyama family's cupboards, only made Shion feel more trapped. Not by _him,_ per say, but by her own behavior this morning, by the conversation she really didn't want to have, and by the easy comfort that she _knew_ he could offer simply by his unawareness that there was anything wrong. _What the hell are you doing, Shion?_ She didn't know, that much was abundantly clear. Yet it felt imperative that she should, like she was losing some sort of invisible ground _fast._

With a muffled groan of frustration, Shion rolled onto her front for the umpteenth time and lobbed the magazine she'd been pretending to flick through at the nearest wall. _What time is it?_ Fumbling about for her phone, Shion blinked at the time on display. _Wow, you've managed to waste an entire day doing precisely piss all._ Unsurprising. She'd have to move herself soon if she was going to pick Kiku up on time – having a shower wouldn't hurt either. Feeling a little less bogged down now she had a clear objective, Shion started ransacking her wardrobe for something to wear. _Yeah first thing first, grab Kiku and apologise. Properly. Sort that out before anything else._

Shion breathed, closing her eyes for a moment and rolling out the kinks in her shoulders. Yeah, she'd agreed to go to the cinema with Kyoka this weekend anyway, so there was no point burning any bridges before that. Anything else could wait until after, and in the meantime she'd just shove it all somewhere near the back of her head and _chill._ Besides, she'd always hated getting like this, all wound-up and restless with no place to go. Nobody liked _that_ Shion. _Shion_ didn't like that Shion. So…so it could wait. She'd pick up Kiku, tell the little pain the ass that she was really sorry until she was blue in the face, and then kick back for the rest of the week until the weekend. _Yeah,_ Shion smiled to herself, _I can live with that._

Freshly showered and dressed, Shion skidded down the steps.

"Yo, Tou-san! I'm gonna go grab Kiku-chan now, okay?" she called to her father from the Genkan.

"Huh, now?" Hiroki shouted back.

"Yeah," Shion grinned. "Thought I'd take my bike the long way round, try to shift this headache, y'know."

"Yeah, no worries…" Hiroki sounded unconvinced.

 _See, this is exactly why I don't like acting like something's bothering me, everyone starts acting like I'm a landmine._

"Ah, Tou-san, it's cool," Shion laughed, reaching up to rub at the back of her neck. "Sorry about this morning, my head's killing me."

"Oh," at least this time, he sounded his usual confident self. "Don't worry about it, Shion-chan."

"Thanks, so we're cool?"

"We're cool," he laughed.

"Nice! Alright, see ya, Tou-san!" and with a cheery wave, Shion strapped herself into her boots and bolted.

 _Well, I think he bought it._ Her father had the memory of a goldfish anyway, so it was likely he'd forget about her entire crabby episode by the time she got back. Tugging her bike free, Shion plugged her earphones in and mounted before setting off at punishing speeds, hoping that if nothing else the combination of the wind resistance and pumping blood would wash away any lingering anxiety. She felt weightless as she weaved through streets and past traffic, focused singularly on the smooth glide of her tires on pavement and the sun warming the crown of her head. She pushed herself harder, because she could. Eased her speed down, because she could. Smiled to herself with that breathless, easy sort of happiness, because she wanted to. On the bike, Shion knew where she was going and what she was doing, she didn't need to worry or impress anyone.

The teenager rose from the saddle and pushed towards the thin strips of white sand that passed for a beach at Fukuoka city. Her smile grew as the sea crested into her view, endless and indifferent. The waterfront was separated from the roads and pavements and pedestrians of the city by a small band of trees and carefully kept grass, before dipping down into the beach proper. Further along the shoreline a small congregation of seafront hotels, amusements and other such tourist-traps dotted a pier. There were a few people lazing about the beach proper, a couple playing catch with their dog, a mother bending to give her son a cone from the ice cream vendor, an old man smoking on one of the benches as he gazed out at the view.

Shion slowed to a halt under the shade of a tree, resting one foot on the grass and eyes scanning out through the umbrella the canopy provided to where the sun warmed the sand uninterrupted. Just breathing for a moment, just letting the peace sink in. Clean. Uncomplicated. It helped – reminding herself that there was an entire world out there outside the mess in her own head.

/-/-/

Koyama Kiku's primary school was an ambitious building. Two robust stories of glass and shining silver metal with joists and railings coming out of everywhere. The roof jutted outwards like a heavy overbite, providing meager shade for a front playground that was devoid of any vegetation or play equipment. Kiku had assured her that there was a sports hall at the back though, along with a greenhouse and some sort of monkey bar cum slide situation – but from the front, the school was hardly inviting to anyone bar architects.

Most of the courtyard was filled with milling pools of parents and children. Shion rested her bike by the outer wall, reasonably confident that it wasn't about to get spirited away by any of the current crowd before making her way towards the front entrance, taking the steps two at a time and smiling as a group of cheering kids sprinted past her. The inside, at least, was more what Shion expected from a primary school. Bright, warm wood and sunshine yellow walls pasted with informational posters and displays of children's artwork or sports achievements. The receptionist, a soft-eyed man with a pelican-like beak, looked up as Shion eased herself next to his desk.

"Hi, can I help?"

"Yo, er, yeah," Shion smiled. "I'm looking for Koyama Kiku's classroom, Tou-san told me to come pick her up."

"Oh," he blinked. "Yes, Koyama-san mentioned you'd come by…Koyama Shion, right?"

"The one and only," Shion finger-gunned – freaking _finger-gunned. Why are you like this?_

If the receptionist was at all thrown off by her bizarre behavior, thankfully he didn't show it.

"Just down the hall, she's in the Sunflower Class," he rose slightly, to point it out for her. Squinting could just make out the wooden sunflower sign dangling delicately above the indicated door.

"Thanks!"

"No problem!"

And with that, Shion sped off before she could embarrass herself any further. A waft of fresh paint and PVCA glue flooded her nose when she opened the door. As she made her way further into the room, Shion had to duck under daisy chains of dinosaurs cut from colourful paper that festooned the ceiling. She was a little freaked out by how _small_ everything was, the chairs, the tables, the low sinks and little shoe racks. _Were kids always this small? I don't remember being this small._ Shion was impeded yet again by another member of staff, this time a very thin woman (thin arms, thin face, thin eyes) with pin-straight shoulder-length hair and the personable bubbliness of a children's TV presenter.

"Hello, can I help you?"

Despite her fragile frame, the woman's voice was _huge –_ thick, deep like roots buried deep in soil. Shion blinked. She twisted at the waist so she could check behind her, as if expecting some bearded sailor to appear from under the woman's skirts.

"Er, yeah, I'm here to grab Kiku-chan," Shion frowned lightly. "Well not _grab_ her and chuck her in a bag or something, I'm not some mad kidnapper…I'm her sister."

"Oh!" the woman's face lifted into a genuine smile. " _You're_ Shion-chan?"

Shion was a little caught off guard by the woman's transparent excitement, "I-I guess so? I _mean_ yeah, sorry, I'm Shion…hahaha, since birth, y'know."

 _Just stop talking. To anyone. For the rest of your life._

Still, despite the blonde's awkward chuckling, the woman's disposition only grew even _more_ cheery. She looked positively giddy, clasping her hands together and _beaming_ at Shion as if the teenager had singlehandedly solved world hunger.

"Ah, sorry, I know this must be confusing," the woman blushed and wafted a hand. "It's just that Kiku-chan talks about you _all_ the time, and it's so nice to finally put a name to the face!"

"Look lady, I don't know what she's told you but eating out the trash was a onetime thing, y'know," Shion sighed. "And it was still in its packaging so _technically-"_

"No, no, nothing like…that," the woman's elation would not be diminished apparently, not even by Shion's raccoon habits. "All good things, honest!"

Flabbergasted, Shion could only gape at her. Which was seemingly enough to send the woman into another peal of motherly laughter.

"Is it so hard to believe?"

"A-a little, yeah," Shion stuttered, feeling a little like she'd been body-swapped.

"Oh, well…believe it!" the woman laughed again as she struck a goofy pose.

 _Is she on something?_

"It's so nice to get _anything_ out of Kiku-chan, you know how shy she is," the woman continued as she bustled about the room, collecting half-finished papers. "But it's especially nice seeing her so happy, she's made a lot of progress since she arrived here! At first, she wouldn't say boo to a ghost, and now she's got a speaking part in our Dreams assembly and making friends, I'm sure you're all so proud of her!"

 _Hang on, hang on, hang on…what the hell?_

"Erm…" Shion latched onto the first thing she could remember from the teacher's torrent of information. "Kiku-chan's got friends?"

 _Wow, way to sound like an asshole._

But the woman only smiled, nodding with obvious pleasure, "uh-huh, not many at the moment – she's so selective about who she trusts, and I understand she has a hard time opening up to people, but this term she's really tried and Hikari-chan's taken a real shine to her so I think we'll have no future concerns there."

"Lovely girl, Hikari-chan, very bubbly," the woman babbled on. "She had a little trouble making friends at first too, she literally glows you see? _Very_ brightly, it's her Quirk, and it being so noticeable…well, you know how children can be sometimes."

Yeah, she did. _So out of everyone, Kiku had befriended the only outcast in her year?_ Shion felt a small swell of pride at the thought. What else had her little sister been hiding?

"Erm, sorry, you said something about a Dream assembly?" Shion asked in her best 'adult voice'.

"Uh-huh, the Dream assembly, we ask one student from each class to give a presentation to the whole school about what they want to be when they grow up – ah!" the woman shifted her smile from Shion to someone behind her. "There she is!"

Feeling oddly guilty, Shion startled and spun hastily on the spot. Kiku was frowning suspiciously up at her, knotted brows half-hidden under a newsboy cap and tiny hands crushed into the pockets of her pinafore dress. Clutching nervously at Kiku's backpack was the vague shape of a girl – 'vague' because said little girl was encased entirely in a bright, bluish glow. _Holy shit, their teacher wasn't joking around – kid's like a fog light._

" **What are you doing here?"**

"Yo, Kiku-chan!" Shion's grinned. "Not gonna give your Nee-san a warm welcome, huh?"

" **I would if you were welcome."**

 _Oh ouch, straight through the heart._

"This is your big sister? The one at U.A.?" the glowing girl ( _Hikari, her name's Hikari and she's probably Kiku-chan's only friend)_ peeked over Kiku's shoulder, the muted blue light beginning to swirl softly with shades of green and yellow like a water colour.

"The one and only," Shion winked.

She couldn't help grinning when the girl's glow turned a violent shade of pink as the pre-schooler squeaked and giggled. Kiku, on the other hand, looked less impressed with Shion's behavior. In fact, she looked downright surly.

" **Whatever, let's go."**

"But me and…erm," _shit, I never asked her name._

"Yanagi-sensei," the teacher provided.

"Right, er, Yanagi-sensei were just talking about-"

Before she could finish, Kiku marched up to her older sister, grabbed her by the oversized T-Shirt and forcibly tugged her out the classroom. Shion could only manage a bewildered shout of 'bye' to Yanagi-sensei and Hikari, who returned both with enthuasim, before her little sister jerked her out the building.

"Oi, Kiku-chan, chill out, yeah?" Shion sighed, as the ten-year-old started slapping at her rump in an effort to make her big sister walk faster. "Hit me any harder and I'm gonna have to sign up for Donkey Aid, y'know."

Kiku only grunted and smacked her again.

"See! This level of aggression is what I'm talking about," she huffed. " _Undeserved_ aggression, by the way, so I dunno…ease up."

" **Don't talk to people at my school."**

Shion scowled at that. Who was Kiku to start issuing demands, and after she'd been so determined to nicely apologise to the squirt too? Besides, _they'd_ been the ones intent on speaking to _her_ – Shion would have been perfectly content strolling into the Sunflower Classroom with one of those nets people used for snake wrangling, successfully capturing Kiku and then be on her merry way without the whole 'peeking into Kiku's mysterious private life' thing. Okay, scratch that, she did _not_ regret learning that her little sister was making some social leeway, even if the news was delivered by the unholy lovechild of Slenderman and Brian Blessed.

"Wow, okay, _she_ came onto _me_ ," Shion stressed. "I'd barely stepped foot in there before she jumped me with her 'this week in Koyama Kiku news' bit."

" **Don't care."**

"Well-!"

 _No, no, c'mon, chill out. You are_ supposed _to be apologising to her._ With great effort, Shion let her mounting frustration sail out of her with a noise like a steaming kettle. And Kiku was _kinda_ right, in a skewed, mostly wrong sense – Shion would have and _had been_ privately thrilled by the prospect of snooping through Kiku's affairs. Although, the only reason _why_ Shion was so keen on discovering more about Kiku (besides the annoying fact that she was her little sister and Shion had the misfortune of loving the prickly, little ball of misanthropy) was because Kiku told her precisely squat about her daily life anyway. Could you really blame Shion for being curious? Especially when Kiku acted like she'd been personally betrayed every time Shion put herself out there by showing an interest (which stung, by the way, but whatever). _In the end though, does it really matter?_

"Okay, okay…I'm sorry," Shion sighed.

The pair lapsed into silence, Kiku grudgingly appeased and Shion privately dreading the thought of putting herself out there to apologise when the former was obviously in such a defensive mood. _Maybe I shouldn't bother? Kiku-chan's gotta know I didn't mean anything when I shouted at her about Onii-san. Or_ maybe _I'm just trying to weasel out of it because being told to shut up again would be way more hurtful to_ me _, than letting Kiku carry on thinking…whatever the hell she's thinking that's making her freeze me out. C'mon, this can't wait, get it sorted out now even though you really, really,_ really _don't want to._

"So, er…" Shion trailed off as she pulled her bike free from the wall. "You wanna ride on the back?"

Kiku eyed her, eyed the bike, then finally eyed the battered pegs affixed to the back wheels like all three were conspiring against her.

"It's cool, I used to ride on the back all the time when Onii-san picked me up from school," the blonde urged.

Still dubious, Kiku planted herself very, very hesitantly onto the back pegs and clutched at Shion's shoulders, mindful of the spikes and pins decorating her older sister's leather waistcoat.

"You good?" Shion glanced behind her with a smile.

Kiku nodded once resolutely, and they set off. Shion decided on the longer, scenic route, although this time she wasn't motivated by scenery. It was just another stalling tactic before the dreaded 'talk'. _This shouldn't be so hard._ Everyone else seemed to have little to no issue with apologising and explaining their actions, so why did Shion? _Because you're an overgrown baby, that's why._ Well, okay, her inner thoughts had a point, but privately Shion disagreed. Not with the accusation specifically, but more with the assignment of blame. In Shion's experience, the Koyamas did not _talk_ – not in the traditional, heart to heart sense – they just bottled stuff up or _declared_ their feelings and expected people to deal with any fallout. In the unlikely circumstance that she actually did voice her concerns, they were overridden or waved off and while previously it had made Shion's life a hell of a lot easier that way ( _everything_ was easier when you pretended it was a big joke that you had zero investment in), it had backfired massively in this situation.

A lifelong habit, especially one that had kept her safe and string-free for so long, was a hard one to break. She _liked_ being safe and string-free. She did not, however, like the thought of Kiku belittling whatever limp effort Shion made towards reconciliation. _She gave you the frog, idiot, doesn't that mean half the work's already done?_

 _Time to bite the bullet._

"H-hey, so do you wanna get an ice cream?"

Silence at first, and for one weightless minute Shion tried to decide whether she was glad or not about the lack of reply, then Kiku patted her shoulder. _Oh yeah, she can't type at the moment._ Gently squeezing the brakes, Shion planted one foot on the floor and twisted so she could lift her little sister from her perch and carefully plant her back on the ground. Ice cream seemed the perfect excuse, since if she chickened out at least it'd look like they'd stopped for _something._ Shion spent the entire time queuing alternating between shooting nervous looks at where Kiku was sitting stiffly next to her bike on the bench, and practicing what she was going to say. By the time she headed back with their ice cream in tow, Shion was no closer to constructing anything that resembled an apology (unless high-pitched whining noises counted).

"Strawberry, yeah?" the blonde thrusted the cone at Kiku's face, before throwing herself onto the bench beside her and doggedly avoiding eye contact.

 _Holy shit, this is awkward. Just bail, just forget about it and bail! You gave it a go…kinda, and no one's making you do this._

" **Nee-san, your ice-cream's melting."**

"Eh? O-oh yeah…so it is."

" **Do you need a napkin? Or an adult?"**

"An adult would be pretty good right now, actually," Shion trailed off into a lame laugh, gaze still glued to the tartan pattern on her skinny jeans.

Because she was neither deaf, blind nor dumb, Kiku understood immediately that her older sister was operating at a slightly higher rate than her usual weirdo levels. The ten-year-old raised a brow. Shion gulped, feeling those big, baby-blues boring into the side of her face. _I wonder if those officers are tailing me right now? I hope not, not that I'm doing anything incriminating, I just hope that Fukuoka's Finest have something better to do than harass teenage girls. Pretty sure the Hamburglar's still at large, they should get on that instead._

" **Oi, Nee-san!"**

Kiku's tone was strident enough to yank Shion out of her thoughts. She blinked. A young woman with a stroller was watching her anxiously from across the street, likely because Shion (a teenager in heavy punk clothing) had spent the last five minutes staring blankly at her while slowly crushing an ice cream in her hand. With a self-conscious cough, Shion grinned at the woman in a way that was intended to be reassuring (it was not, the woman clasped a hand to her chest and practically fled with her baby in tow) and attempted to salvage what was left of her ice cream.

"Er, actually, Kiku-chan, maybe we should go somewhere a little more private, I…er, I wanted to talk to you about something?"

 _There, it's out there now._

Finding somewhere a little more private was easier said than done in a city, but Shion managed to hunt out a little shady area in front of a huge, peeling All Might sign that was relatively pedestrian-clear. She waited for Kiku to park herself on the concrete base holding up one of the struts before pacing. And pacing. And pacing and saying absolutely nothing while eyeing her little sister like the ten-year-old was a snake about to bite. _C'mon, you can do this!_

"So, er, w-we need to talk?"

 **"What if I don't want to."**

Shion exhaled. Deeply. _Of all the times to dig her heels in, why did Kiku have to do it now? Forget it, I'm gonna make my getaway before the entire stupid thing went up in smoke! No, no, c'mon, preserve!_ She could be honest - _oh shit, I'm gonna have to be **100%** honest here - _for Kiku's sake. Shion's heart was jumping in her chest as if it were a live, separate creature. _C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!_

"I'm trying to have a heart to heart with you here, Kiku-chan, can you _please_ try not be an ass about it," Shion sighed.

Sullen silence. She didn't know whether she was going to explode or bodily run away from the tense atmosphere - either way, she was less likely to embarrass herself.

"Can you...can you just take this seriously for a minute?" Shion exhaled.

 **"Why should I? You don't even take yourself seriously."**

 _Oh wow. Holy shit, that hurt. A lot._

"Please?" Shion begged.

" **Fine. What do you want to talk about** **?"**

 _Deep breaths, Shion, deep breaths! How bad can it be? Really, you're making this a bigger thing in your head than it has to be. And_ knowing _that is precisely zero consolation..._

 _Shit. C'mon, just do it!_

"A-about what I said the other day, y'know, when I shouted at you, I probably shouldn't have done that and…and I'm sorry," Shion coughed again, too ashamed to look Kiku in the face. "I-I won't do it again."

Kiku was silent but Shion doubted the ten-year-old would have managed to get a word in even if she'd wanted to. It was like a cork had loosened somewhere in Shion's chest, and behind it was this hideous, unstoppable torrent of words and feelings and...and _stuff -_ thoughts that Shion had scarcely even acknowledged to herself never mind someone else. And it all wanted _out._

"Look, I know I'm a pretty shitty sister! I'm stupid and all I do is chat shit all the time, I can't do anything right but I – I want to do the big sister thing right! Like Onii-san was to me. S-so, not to sound sappy or anything, but if you need to talk to somebody, you can talk to me, okay? I know we can't rely on Tou-san and Okaa-san sometimes, and I know stuff's always been harder for you and that you don't like to let other people know when it's getting you down, but you don't _have_ to be strong all the time, Kiku-chan. You _don't._ You're ten-years-old, and it's okay to be scared or upset or lonely sometimes. I'm your big sister and I'll be your big sister until the day I die; I can't do much, but I'll do _everything_ I can to help."

By the time she finished, Shion was shaking slightly, exposed and in no small amount of disbelief that all _that_ had just come pouring out of her. Her eyes stung. Her chest _ached_. Her hands were clenched tight against her thighs. She still couldn't look at Kiku, not when she felt flayed open like this, but she wanted to let her know that all _this,_ all this was for _her._ It was a terrifying thought, that she was willingly placing all her faith in Kiku in the hopes that her little sister wouldn't take advantage of this new vulnerability, the hope that exposing herself like this might actually achieve something or get through to Kiku - and just because her little sister deserved _every_ bit of it did not make it any less terrifying. There was no way to take this back or pass it off as another joke. It had been said and it had been _real_ , and Shion would have to live with the consequences.

"Just…just please don't shut me out, Kiku-chan, I _hate_ it when you shut me out."

It was silent. _Shit, shit, I've embarrassed her! What the hell was I thinking, just going off on one and bombarding her with all that emotional baggage! Oh, well done, Shion, you've really freaked her out now! Where did all that stuff come from anyway? Okay, all of it was true but that doesn't mean you need to make Kiku uncomfortable by acting like some pathetic sap!_

" **I wanna be a Hero."**

Shion blinked. Waited for her brain to work again, and when it didn't, turned to gape at Kiku. Hidden under the looming shadow of All Might's sign, the ten-year-old curled into herself tightly. In that moment, everything about Kiku seemed both tiny and brittle. She wouldn't even look at Shion. _Is she…is she crying?_

Shion suddenly felt as though they were both on the cusp of something, something volatile and potentially damaging, and wished she could tell her little sister to _stop talking right now -_ but she couldn't. After _promising_ her that she'd be there for her, how could Shion give into her own growing unease when Kiku was obviously so fragile? Shion just wished she knew what to do.

" **That's what my assembly's on, that's why I didn't want you talking to Yanagi-sensei and why I got angry when you kept defending Onii-san even though he's a stupid thug."**

"Kiku…" she tried, unstuck her throat, tried again. "What?"

" **Mama or Tou-san would never let me, and if I did it anyway, they wouldn't love me anymore. Besides what kind of Hero can't even talk to people, huh? Then you get into U.A. and you don't even want to be there."**

Kiku stopped herself, a well of emotion barely held back behind a crumpled expression. _I_ _s this what it's all been about? How did she keep that inside for this long? Shit, she is crying. I didn't want to make her cry._

" **All our family ever does is hurt people. All I ever do is hurt people. I just – I just wanted to help for once."**

And it was at that point that Kiku broke. Shion could only stare at her like she'd never seen her sister before, as the little girl curled into herself and cried as if her life depended on it, her tiny shoulders shuddering as she tried to muffle her voice in her hands. Shion didn't have the words necessary to mend this, so she took one shaky step forward. She rushed the next one and reached out to Kiku and held the ten-year-old against her as if that could stem the hurt somehow - hoping desperately that she understood in the slightest how _much_ Shion wanted to make it better for her.

It tore the heart out of Shion seeing her little sister like that. It was physically painful seeing someone she had to protect _hurting so much,_ while she'd been either too damn powerless or oblivious to stop it. She thought of Doctor Frog, thought of Kiku pulling at the back of hoodies, of Kiku falling asleep against her shoulder and laughing when she was still small enough to tolerate piggy-back rides and all those times she'd had to scare monsters from Kiku's closets and attend tea-parties with her stuffed animals and applied band-aids. She thought of her little sister - her stubborn, grumpy, sensitive, brave little sister and how she'd been tearing herself apart with this for so long, without a single soul to help her or talk about it to.

And suddenly Shion couldn't breathe. _Shit, it hurts. I'm so sorry, Kiku. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I swear I didn't know._

 _But I know now._

 _I know now, Kiku, and I promise I'm gonna make this better somehow._


	18. Shion Koyama vs A Goddamn Mission

Disclaimer:

I do not own Hero Academia, nor do I own any pop culture references made.

Note:

I have no excuses, my dudes. Updates are and will probably continue to be slow since I'm writing when I can without trying to rush anything and ruining it. A massive thank you all for hanging on in there. Seriously a good review can make someone's _whole_ day, and I have no idea to explain how rewarding it is to know that someone's read and enjoyed something I've written.

* * *

 **Shion Koyama vs. A Goddamn Mission**

 **.**

" **I'm not a dwarf, asshole."**

 **\- Kiku Koyama**

.

Kiku never said a word the entire ride home. Shion desperately wished her little sister _would_ say something because evidently, she had neither the courage nor the social skills to broach the subject. _I don't know what to do with all this._ When Shion had asked (begged, really, but she'd like to maintain _some_ semblance of dignity) Kiku to open up, the blonde had been wholly unprepared for both the intensity and depth of her little sister's confession. Which was stupid, now she thought about it, because 'intense' was kinda Kiku's M.O.

 _Some big sister I am, huh. All this time she's wanted to be a Hero, and I had no idea._ She'd been too wrapped up in her own problems to realise that Kiku was slipping further and further from reach, and definitely too cowardly to ask her little sister what the problem was earlier. As always, Shion had taken the easy way out just to avoid any potential risk or the extra work that came with navigating unknown waters. _Shit, what a flake. What a waste of space. Shame that it's always someone else that ends up paying for your useless ass, huh?_ Guilt churned in Shion's stomach like bile.

By the time they reached the Koyama house, it had been close to an hour since Kiku had left school, and Shion was reasonably sure their parents were back with Kiku's furry present in tow. Sighing deeply, the teenager planted one foot on the floor and twisted in her saddle to gently lift Kiku from the back of her bike. She'd barely deposited Kiku back on the pavement when a frantic sort of urgency gripped her. Hands still hooked under the ten-year-old's arms, Shion just stared down at her little sister for a long moment, waiting for something tangible to float above the mire of emotional upheaval. She couldn't escape the feeling that whatever needed to be said, needed to be said _now_ before they crossed the threshold and faced their parents.

"Er, Kiku-chan, before we go in…"

Still red-eyed, Kiku lifted her head to meet her older sister's stare, and that was the moment when all Shion's determination crumbled. _I can't do this. I don't know what to say._ Predictably, Shion clammed up. Just sat on her bike and stared at Kiku with a panicked expression.

Had Shion expected that the _gesture_ of support would be enough? That she wouldn't have to actually deliver on any promises, that lip service was the _only_ thing Kiku needed in a big sister? That Kiku could tear herself apart and spill herself open, and Shion would be completely absolved with the verbal equivalent of a 'get well soon' card? Was _everything_ she told Kiku just empty talk?

No. _No_ , screw that. Shion didn't know how she'd even begin to make this right, but she _would_ …somehow. She wasn't leaving Kiku to deal with it all again or abandoning her, because Shion was her big sister and it was her job to protect the kid. Ensuring Kiku's happiness was the first thing in a long time that Shion could remember being serious about. Actually, scratch that, she'd _always_ been serious about it…kinda, although largely it hadn't felt like more of an obvious statement than anything she needed to _do_.

It was, however, her first opportunity to truly prove to Kiku that she could be there for her. She couldn't pretend to understand Kiku's aspirations, couldn't even pretend to properly understand Kiku as a person sometimes, but did that really matter when it had clearly affected the ten-year-old so much? Not to Shion. Not as much as her little sister's happiness, at least. And if their parents had a problem with it (although Shion privately doubted they'd disown the precious baby of the family over her career choices), well then Shion would, er – she'd slap them into submission. Yeah! She'd bitch slap the whole of Japan if it meant never having to watch Kiku completely break down ever again.

"I meant what I said before. We'll work it out somehow, okay?" it took a conscious effort to force the words past her lips, but somehow Shion managed and couldn't decide whether she felt better or worse for it.

Kiku only eyed her warily, and Shion tried to meet the penetrating look with some of her newfound determination. For a good, long minute, the two sisters only watched one another; Kiku trying to probe Shion's face for any signs of dishonesty and Shion trying to convey the full brunt of her sincerity. _"Why should I? You don't even take yourself seriously."_ Those words had hurt but (as much as it pained her to admit) they'd been true, Shion had earnt every ounce of her little sister's scepticism. Even now, her first thought had been escaping or trying to brush off the situation. But she was willing to try to be different, for whatever that counted. _I'm trying here, Kiku, I swear I'm really trying._

Just when Shion was beginning to lose all hope that she'd _ever_ be seen as anything but a big, stupid clown, she felt a tug on her sleeves. With what little strength she had, Kiku pulled her down for a hug. It was an awkward angle with Shion still straddling her bike, but that was easily rectified by carefully wrapping her arms around Kiku's skinny waist and hoisting her up. Shion closed her eyes and sighed as she pressed her cheek against Kiku's tiny ear. It felt good. It felt _really_ good to just hold onto the squirt after her meltdown, reaffirming that she hadn't screwed up completely and Kiku was still here. Maybe Shion needed it just as much as her little sister did - outside her brother and father, it wasn't that often that she allowed herself the risk of accidentally hurting someone with her strength (not that she _could_ when her Quirk was inactive, but still…old fears ran deep). Arms around her neck, Kiku clung back fearlessly, clutching at her as if her big sister were a shield. And Shion _wanted_ to be that shield. She wanted her little sister to feel safe with her. The blonde doubted she would have received such a sincere response if she'd chickened out the fifty thousand times her nerves had urged her to.

For the first time in a long time, Shion actually felt proud of something she'd done.

Eventually, she pulled back with a deep sigh, "alright, enough of the soppy shit."

The statement was followed by a very loud, very unsubtle sniff that both of them pretended didn't happen.

"C'mon, we'd better head in before Okaa-san thinks you've fallen down a crack in the pavement," with a (slightly watery) grin, Shion reached out and ruffled Kiku's choppy pink hair. "Besides, I wanna make sure Tou-san hasn't eaten your cat or whatever."

" **I'm not a dwarf, asshole…wait, did you say something about a cat?"**

" _Shit!_ I mean, er… _no,_ I did _not._ "

/-/-/

The next day Koyama Shion swept into U.A. Academy with all the ferocious, directionless intent of a Scalextric that had come off the track. She had been up early, eaten an _actual_ breakfast, barely hogged the bathroom, and capped it all off with an obnoxiously encouraging thumbs-up to Kiku before rushing out the door. She had even been wearing _matching socks._ She'd marched to the station, marched in place on the train (just to keep the momentum going), and marched right into U.A. Academy. So strong was her focus, that Shion had even marched past Kyoka on the way in…before belatedly realising what she'd done and hurrying back with a litany of rapid-fire apologies.

Because Koyama Shion was on a goddamn mission.

"Why are you walking like a demented frog?" Kyoka asked as she fell into step beside her.

"Because Koyama Shion is on a goddamn mission," Shion announced.

Kyoka blinked, gave her a side-eye then (upon deciding that that wasn't much stranger than Shion's usual replies) shrugged, "okay, cool. Anything I can help with?"

 _That_ successfully pulled Shion to a halt.

"Hang on…you wanna help?"

"Well, yeah," Kyoka frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

Shion did not actually have a good answer to that. Mainly because there was no logical reason for why Kyoka would refuse to help.

"I-I dunno," she stuttered, more than a little unsettled.

The shorter girl only frowned slightly up at her, before her features twisted into a familiar expression of fond confusion.

"You know, Koyama-chan, you can be a real dumbass sometimes."

Relieved for reasons she couldn't properly explain, Shion tried to cover it up with an exaggerated wink, "that's what it says on my business cards…baby~"

"Holy shit, it's _way_ too early to deal with you," Kyoka ducked her head and huffed a laugh. "So, what's going on?"

Straight to the point as always. Still, part of Shion had been foolishly expecting a little more time to cook up a story about the situation with Kiku _minus_ the Villain trimmings. Which was easier said than done now she thought about it. How to explain Kiku's whole complex about becoming a Hero without explaining the dynamics of the Koyama family, or Shion's (or more accurately, her mother's) own motivations about her enrolment?

She could always feed Kyoka some bullshit line or wave it off, or make fart noises until the shorter girl was deterred from the topic altogether…but, well, Kyoka had offered to help, hadn't she? Just like Shion had offered to help Kiku yesterday, and if Kiku had responded to her with any of the above, Shion wasn't entirely sure she'd _ever_ bother scraping up enough courage to bother asking again. Could she do that Kyoka? Part of her was telling her that she _had_ to, that she had a ready excuse to massage away any lingering guilt. And yet…

"Er, well, it's kinda complicated, y'know," Shion's hands drummed anxiously at her sides, eyes doggedly averted. "I-it's about my little sister."

"You said her name Kiku, right?"

Kyoka's expression was nonplussed as ever, but the simple fact that she'd remembered Kiku's name - one of the only (maybe even _the_ only) pieces of actual personal information she had given her - was enough to make her smile widely.

"Yeah, her name's Kiku and she wants to be a Hero."

"Uh-huh, cool," Kyoka nodded. "What's the problem?"

 _And_ just like that all her previous determination vanished.

She wished, desperately, that she could talk to Hiroto. He would've known what to do – chances were that he would have used the opportunity to mess with her a little, but he would have _known_ and sorted it all out for her eventually _._ More importantly, Shion would have had some idea of what her older brother's reaction would be, _unlike_ the purple-haired girl currently staring up at her.

What if she spilled her guts out to Kyoka, and got nothing but silence? Or worse, what if she got the impression that the Koyamas were some boiling pot of crazy stew and judged Kiku for it? What if this completely changed the way Kyoka perceived her - how she spoke to her, how she acted around her, how she…actually _liked_ hanging out with Shion for some inexplicable reason.

Could Shion honestly run that risk?

Kiku was _Shion's_ little sister, and that meant that she was also _her_ responsibility. As lovely and wonderful and - _urgh,_ Shion didn't have enough words for how much she'd needed to hear that Kyoka was willing to help her out, the _offer_ was more than enough and just…too much of a potential disaster to actually take her up on.

Besides she'd managed on her own before now, and everything had turned out _mostly_ fine. True, this particular situation was alien to her and Shion was _already_ feeling way in over her head, but it was like her father said – family took care of family. Seriously what the hell had she been thinking? Kyoka was a friend, a really good friend, the first proper friend Shion could remember having in…shit, maybe her _first_ proper friend _ever_. There was no way, she could jeopardise that by offloading on her now and becoming some sort of burden. She was _supposed_ to be making Kyoka laugh and stuff, not stressing her out with Koyama family drama.

"You know what, it's nothing," Shion's smile was wide, almost painful, and accompanied by a little jerky movement with her shoulders somewhere between a flinch and a shrug. "Forget I said anything, yeah? _So,_ anyway, remember when you said about us going to the cinema? What film were you thinking of catching, cause'-"

"Koyama-chan."

"-full disclosure here, Jirou-chan, I don't think I'm gonna be able to _completely_ follow the plot of anything over PG13."

"Koyama-chan."

"So, if we could see something about animated bunnies or dinosaurs or some Disney shit about the power of friendship, that would be cool with-"

" _Koyama,"_ Kyoka latched onto the blonde's arm and gave it a swift, no-nonsense yank.

Ever the intellectual, Shion made some vague, gawping sound.

Still looking her dead in the eye, Kyoka released her hold and shifted neatly so that she was bodily blocking Shion's escape route. It was a weirdly graceful movement, completely at odds with Kyoka's stern eyes. Shion gulped.

" _Now_ ," Kyoka frowned. "Are you gonna tell me what's going on?"

"…er, no?" Shion squeaked.

One dark brow raised, but otherwise Kyoka didn't push – just sighed, nodded once and stepped back, disengaging at Shion's request. Yet, it was her retreat somehow that had Shion rushing forward. And just as _further_ evidence that Kyoka Jirou was possibly one of the best people on the planet, she gave Shion her full attention again without a single (probably well deserved) comment about the blonde's earlier knee-jerk rejection. _Seriously, what the hell did I do to deserve a friend like this._

"Kiku-chan, she's…she's got a little control issue with her Quirk, I guess? Er, think like leaky ass syndrome but with a really powerful Quirk."

"Pretty sure it's not medically called 'leaky ass syndrome'," Kyoka frowned.

 _Okay, maybe not 100% okay with my earlier asshole-ish behaviour after all…but still willing to help, so I'm gonna take that as a win!_

"Whatever, whatever, _my point is_ that Kiku-chan thinks she can't ever become a Hero and she's been really upset about it, and…well, y'know," Shion shrugged, trying for nonchalance and missing the mark by miles.

" _And_ you're being a good sister," Kyoka supplied with a growing smile.

"Me? No way, I'm just worried that she'll sneeze one day, and it'll end up yanking all my hair off or something."

Kyoka was entirely unconvinced if the knowing smile was any indication, " _uh-huh."_

"I'm serious, Jirou-chan! Can you imagine me bald? Can you imagine this face on an egg? Because that's the nightmare you'd be living!" Shion stressed.

She was not, in _any_ way, blushing bright red under Kyoka's obvious disbelief.

"Hang on, let me get this straight…you've been wandering around U.A. so your little sister, who has a leaky ass, doesn't sneeze you bald and turn you into a 'nightmare egg'?"

"Yep."

"And this in no way has anything to do with you just wanting to help her out?" Kyoka folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight onto one hip.

"Yeah, pretty much," Shion nodded. "I was gonna ask Mic-sensei how he got his Quirk under control."

Kyoka blinked, arms dropping back down to her sides, before finally peering up at Shion.

"That's actually…not a bad idea."

"Well, yeah," Shion looked equally perturbed now. "Why do you sound so shocked?"

"Er, no reason," Kyoka coughed once into her fist in an effort to school her expression back into its usual stoicism.

The pair continued down the hallways in silence for a while, Shion shooting Kyoka confused glances every now and then while the latter doggedly ignored the former.

" _So_ , do you have any idea where Mic-sensei might be?" Kyoka asked as it became apparent that Shion absolutely did _not._

"Besides his classroom or terrorising some Disco Derby somewhere? No, no idea," the blonde sighed. "I thought I'd just wander around for a bit and he'd…I dunno, pop out the ceiling or something."

The purple-haired girl huffed a short laugh as she reached into her bag, pulling out her day planner and scanning it with bored eyes.

"We've got English before lunch, so just stick around after and ask him then."

"Jirou-chan," Shion beamed, "I seriously don't know what I'd do without you."

Averting her eyes and blushing at the taller girl's blatant gratitude, Kyoka could only shrug.

"Probably just wait around until Mic-sensei popped out the ceiling," she mumbled.

/-/-/

Never before had Shion Koyama devoted as much intensity to a lesson, as she did that fateful English Class before lunch. Just the virtue of being the first one there had almost been enough to give poor Iida a heart attack, but the fact that the erstwhile slacker then proceeded to actively engage with the questions _and_ avoided chatter was almost enough to push Class 1A's Representative into full blown cardiac arrest. A very _proud_ cardiac arrest but cardiac arrest, nonetheless. He would have happily congratulated her on her newfound enthusiasm for her education if Shion had not immediately leaped out her seat at the lunch bell and began ambushing their teacher.

"Oi, sensei! I, er, mean…may I have your attention, oh wise teacher?" the blonde was practically dancing from one foot to the other as the rest of the students.

Ever-dutiful, Iida stayed behind, only mildly surprised when a rather bored-looking Jirou shored up next to him. After all, if there was something urgent affecting Koyama-kun then it was Iida's responsibility to know and plan accordingly.

"You're overselling it," Kyoka muttered, watching as the blonde continued to jitter about anxiously.

"Is there something wrong with Koyama-kun?" Iida frowned.

"Huh? Kind of…maybe you should be asking her? It's not really my place to say," she answered evasively.

"I see," Iida nodded before immediately straightening and projecting his voice across the emptying classroom, "IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG, KOY-"

Kyoka startled and elbowed him, hissing, "not right now!"

"Oh…my apologies, Jirou-san," after dipping into a short bow, Iida pivoted towards the bewildered blonde watching them both and smiled. "Nothing to worry about, Koyama-kun, carry on!"

Ordinarily, having Iida foghorn across the room would have been enough to distract Shion, but this Shion Was On A Mission, and was therefore impervious to petty distractions and Iida's well-meaning concern…and rumbling bellies. _Man, I wonder if they're serving burgers at the cafeteria? Nope, nope, don't think about food._

"Mic-sensei, can I talk to you for a sec?"

" **What's up?"** Mic-sensei hooked his thumbs into his (ridiculously tight) trousers and looked the still wiggling teenager over.

"Er, so, my little sister has the same Quirk as you, right? A-and I was…"

" **Uh-huh, uh-huh,"** Mic-sensei was pacing and nodding and thumbing at his chin in a manner that he probably _thought_ made him look contemplative, but in actuality just made him look like a demented desk ornament.

 _Am I actually going to ask a Hero to help out?_ _Urgh, can't believe I'm doing this._ _It has to be some sorta stipulation in a Koyama family curse or something? Your ass is about to get haunted, Shion._

"I was wondering if you maybe had some tricks or a course or something that helped you control it, y'know? She's having real trouble, and she wants to enrol here - when she's older since she's only ten, but that's beside the point – what _matters_ is she's really got this whole…hang up on not being able to control her Quirk, like she has to speak through a machine and she has a hard time connecting with people 'cause she's always worried about accidentally hurting someone and-"

She literally had to stop talking so she could gasp in another breath. The hand tapping anxiously at her thigh was actually beginning to hurt. The little alarm in the back of her head was blaring a red tattoo of 'danger, danger, danger' as Mic-sensei (a _professional Hero)_ squinted down at her.

"What I'm trying to say is my little sister wants to be a Hero, _really_ wants to be a Hero, more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. So she can help people out for a change and I might not agree with it…er, with the 'for a change' thing, Plus Ultra and all that, y'know, so if there's literally any way you can help _her_ then you're helping a future Hero, right?"

The urge to squeeze her eyes shut was powerful. Shion felt like one big clenched muscle as she waited in anticipation for the professional Hero's answer.

" **I feel ya, I really do,"** Mic sighed. " **But I'm not sure that sort of thing is my area of expertise."**

That had been the last thing Shion wanted or expected to hear. The breath left her body in one big, stale burst. _What the hell? What the hell?_

"But you're literally a teacher! At a Hero school!"

" **Exactly, this is a licensed, registered Hero Academy – a safe place to practice such exercises. I'm not trained to couch a ten-year-old off grounds-"**

"B-but I promised her! Look, er, I'll…I'll pay you or something, I'm begging you to just give her some advice-"

" **Whoa, whoa, slow down there,"** slightly panicked, Mic reached out and stilled Shion's heaving shoulders. **"I can give her some tips, yeah? But, by law, I can't officially train her until she's old enough to apply."**

Being a veteran survivor of such, Shion knew a losing battle when she saw one. How the hell was she supposed to go home to Kiku and telling her that U.A. couldn't help her?

When Shion was a kid, her older brother (who had the self-control of Labrador on his good days) had had a habit of sitting on her until she couldn't breathe whenever she'd pestered him too much. Visibly deflating under Mic-sensei's sympathetic shoulder pat, Shion felt like she had then - small and frustrated and powerless. Like the world was sitting on her chest. But what else had she honestly expected, huh? When _hadn't_ Heroes made her feel that way? She'd just hoped that with Kiku it might be different, that Shion might actually be able to _do_ something.

"Oh. Okay. No worries…thanks Mic-sensei."

 **"Don't give up hope, if your sister's half as determined as you said, then she'll find a way! And I - Present Mic - will be here to cheer her on every step of the way!"**

' _Seriously, just stop talking to me right now'_ was what Shion _wanted_ to say. What she actually _did_ was nod her head mutely, and shuffle back towards Kyoka.

"Please excuse me, Jirou-san," Iida quietly murmured before slipping away.

It took a moment, a couple of breaths, to claw back the disappointment that felt like it physically oozing out of her, but by the time Shion reached Kyoka her smile was half-convincing. Kyoka, of course, saw right through it.

"You okay?" the shorter girl frowned with concern.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Shion grinned and shrugged, aiming for bashful and hitting shaky. "Guess I'll just try something else, y'know?"

Which was true, she _could_ always try something else. She'd promised Kiku she was going to deliver, so Shion fully _intended_ to deliver. It'd be pretty pathetic if she let herself give up entirely because of one setback, right? It was just that…well, part of Shion had been so _sure_ that U.A. had been the answer, that if she could just get U.A. to back Kiku then maybe her little sister would finally believe in herself. But she'd been wrong, and that sense of weighted disappointment was enough to sink her once burgeoning confidence. What was she going to say to Kiku now?

"Hey, cheer up," Kyoka smiled and nudged her. "Mic-sensei said he'll give you some tips so you're not completely empty-handed."

That was right. He hadn't outright said Kiku should throw in the towel. So why did Shion feel like she'd failed so miserably?

"Yeah, yeah, thanks Jirou-chan," Shion forced a grin. "C'mon, do you reckon they're still serving food?"

/-/-/

There was a marked decline in Shion's motivation for the rest of the day. She drifted from Hero Studies to Maths like a piece of driftwood, devoid of her usual chatter, her attention split between gazing blindly out the window and scribbling ideas on how to help Kiku before crossing them out again.

Truth was, she didn't know what to do now. There were outside classes that dealt with Quirk control, but they were either far outside Shion's price range or came with a month-long waiting list that couldn't be bypassed without the right connections. It wasn't like she could ask her mother for help; despite them sharing a Quirk, Hanako had never had any experience with it being naturally overcharged like Kiku's was (actually, come to think of it, maybe Mic-sensei didn't either).

Besides, control wasn't the _real_ issue with Kiku - just the most immediate one. Her little sister didn't have faith in her ability to be a Hero, so Shion had hoped that some tangible backing from U.A. would finally convince her. Hopefully, Mic-sensei's tips would do the trick, but if they didn't then Shion had spilt her guts and got others involved for nothing. Worse, Shion would have proven to her little sister that she wasn't someone worth relying on. She'd made an absolute tit out of herself, again.

 _No, c'mon, c'mon, it's one setback._ True, and despite the morose slump she'd found herself in, Shion had no intention of going back on her promise – but she couldn't help worrying over how effective she'd be without U.A.'s help. Funny, she'd never _truly_ considered herself a U.A. student, and yet it was the one thing of any value she had to offer Kiku.

 _Urgh, I hate feeling like this._ At the very least, she had to get it together before she got home and Kiku got a look at her miserable expression. After waving goodbye to Kyoka and jamming her earphones in, Shion exhaled into the mild Spring air and started dragging her feet towards her station. Summer was truly on its way, the weather warming and foliage bursting with bright greens amidst the last few smatterings of spring buds. Where the promise of summer would have had Shion's mind pinballing towards lighter topics any other day, today it was too bogged down with her current dilemma to bother with thoughts about Fukuoka beach, or boat trips or theme parks.

 _Maybe I could ask Okaa-san if I can borrow the money?_ It was a lot of money, and therefore Hanako was bound to ask what she needed it for. Since Kiku didn't want to be outed to their parents, begging them for money would involve coming up with a semi-convincing lie…which her mother would immediately see through but, hey, Hanako was far more likely to accuse Shion of owing loan sharks than suspecting that Kiku wanted Quirk training so she could be a Hero. If worst came to worst and Shion couldn't secure Kiku any training, then she could probably just try to train her little sister by herself. True, she had no _how,_ and she was still (privately) more than a little apprehensive about her _own_ Quirk, but she could try, right? _Yeah, and immediately get shot down by Kiku._

"Idiot, you can't know how she'll react until you _ask_ her," Shion muttered to herself. "So, stop worrying about it."

"-yama-kun!"

Not that putting herself out there had worked particularly well for Shion in the past. _Why_ had she acted like the big damn hero and promised Kiku something like that when she had no idea whether she _could_ do anything about it. It would have been much safer to just stick in her lane. _Because you love the prickly little asshole, that's why._ Because she _never_ wanted to see Kiku break down like she had yesterday again. Because one of her siblings was already estranged and bitter and Shion missed him every damn day, and she was _not_ about to let that happen to another – not when she could actually _do_ something about it this time. _Family looks after family._ Not that any of this would be much consolation when Shion inevitably failed anyway.

"Wait up, Koyama-chan!"

"Koya-"

 _Urgh, shut up, shut up!_ Moping around and beating herself up about it wasn't going to solve anything. _This isn't about you, Shion-_

A hand suddenly clamped down on her shoulder. This being the last thing Shion expected (bar Hiroto swooping down from one the trees in overblown drag), she reacted purely on instinct. Unfortunately, said instinct was to viciously headbutt Iida's previously smiling face.

"HOLY SHIT!" said Shion as she sprang backwards.

"Unfff," said Iida as he went sprawling onto the pavement.

"Iida-kun! Are you okay?" said Uraraka as she and Midoriya leapt to help their friend up.

"Oh man, Megane-kun, I'm sorry, I-I didn't know it was you," the blonde stuttered, hands guiltily flying up as if to keep them away from any potential victims.

"It's quite alright, Koyama-kun," Iida waved her off with one hand and tried to stem his nosebleed with the other.

"Are you sure, Iida-kun, your nose is bleeding," Midoriya continued to hover over Iida in that distinctly mother-hen manner of his, while Uraraka hunted through her bag for tissues. Meanwhile Shion danced about them all, caught between worrying about Iida and worrying about getting too close and accidently hurting him again, as Iida steadily turned red under all the attention.

"T-thank you all for your concern, but I'm perfectly fine!"

"Oh shit, oh shit, I think I broke your glasses," the blonde frowned miserably. "Seriously, I'm really, really, _really_ sorry! I-if I'd known it was you, I _swear_ I wouldn't have-"

"No! No, Koyama-san, please don't worry – it was an accident!" Midoriya simultaneously shot her a comforting smile and helped dust down Iida.

"Yeah, but I-"

"Okay, can everyone stop apologising please!" Uraraka broke in cheerily before the pair could devolve into some sort of 'sorry' echo chamber and presumably summon the eldritch god of over-apologising.

"It was an accident and you're fine, right Iida-kun?"

"Of course," Iida nodded, readjusting his (now slightly bent) glasses. "And mind your language on school grounds, Koyama-kun!"

"Sorry, Uraraka-chan," Midoriya mumbled.

"It's okay," Uraraka smiled sunnily, patting the contrite teenager on the back before turning to Shion. "Besides, we came here to help you out, Koyama-chan!"

Uraraka was either completely oblivious or worryingly aware of her cuteness factor - though on these circumstances, Shion was leaning towards the latter. After all, the brunette had successfully disarmed a potential ouroboros of awkward apologies and got them all back on task with a few words. The blonde could hardly make a hasty getaway with _that_ cherubic face beaming up at her. _Why did I have to accidently assault the most guilt-inducing trio in Class 1A. Now,_ _I'm definitely gonna miss my train._

"Iida-kun heard what you said to Mic-sensei, and we all decided to help out whatever way we could," Uraraka explained. "So, we all stuck our heads together and researched a bunch of Quirk management courses for kids, and between the three of us we found one that offers classes for advanced Quirks. See!"

Uraraka rooted through her bag before pushing a glossy pamphlet into Shion's unresponsive hands.

"We asked Jirou-chan, and she said you lived in Fukuoka, so we tried to find somewhere near there," the brunette continued excitedly. "It's a few miles out, but it only takes half-an-hour by car."

"A-and after we told him, All Might-sensei said he'd sponsor your little sister if you didn't have the money," Midoriya interjected.

They were all watching her, all smiling encouragingly, and Shion...Shion didn't know what the hell to say. What _could_ you say to something like that? They'd all gone out their way (even Kyoka and All Might by the sounds of it, which made it the _second_ time the Pro Hero had directly helped her for absolutely no apparent reason) just to _help_ _her._ Based on some overheard conversation with Mic-sensei and her limp attitude during afternoon lessons. And they were all acting like hoisting Shion out of her spiralling insecurity and hopelessness when they had _nothing_ at all to gain from it was no big deal. Uraraka, Midoriya, Iida, Kyoka - they were all _good_ people. Not the sugary, unrealistic demigods she'd seen on TV, but _people_ with good hearts that just wanted to help someone because it was the _right_ thing to do.

"I…I-I don't know what to say…" Shion stared from them to the pamphlet, and back again.

"No need to say anything, Koyama-kun," Iida's heavy hand patted her shoulder with a gratified expression.

 _No there was. There really was!_

Drawing in a deep breath, Shion dipped into the most formal and most sincerely _grateful_ bow she could manage. It was nothing compared to what they'd done for her in a single gesture, but until she was rich enough (unlikely) to literally shower all three of them with money, it was best she could do.

"Thank you! Seriously guys, y-you've got no idea how much this means..." if her voice was conspicuously watery, Shion hoped nobody mentioned it.

"Aww, Koyama-chan, there's no need for that, we were happy to help," Uraraka pulled her upright with a surprisingly understanding smile - as if she'd been _exactly_ in position Shion was now, vastly grateful and with no way to show it enough.

Gently, as if it were something precious (and it _was_ to Shion), she folded the pamphlet into her backpack.

"But why…why did you do all this?"

"Because we're classmates, Koyama-san," Midoriya smiled softly, like such kindness was the easiest thing to do – and, to Midoriya, it probably was. "We all need to look out for each other."

Eyes burning and chest brimming with a sudden swell of fierce affection, Shion swallowed down the lump in her throat and nodded mutely in reply.

 _Family looks out for family._

Now she just had to pitch the idea to her little sister.

* * *

Quick Extra Note, Sorry:

Fortunately, a reviewer pointed something out that I (knowing the plot of future chapters and what I _meant_ in my head but honestly didn't convey very well in writing) have made Mic seem a little wishy-washy or indifferent concurring certain subjects in this chapter. So I'd like to explain here in case anyone gets the wrong idea that Mic is not outright saying 'no,' he's just saying that he cannot _officially_ do anything because Kiku is 10. Which doesn't mean he _won't_ be cheering her on every step of the way and helping in any other way he can. Fully expect him to be making further appearances in future chapters when it comes to Kiku's development ;)

Also please, _please_ don't ever be worried about reviewing with a criticism or anything in that nature. We may not agree sometimes but it's really helpful times like this, when I can't differentiate what I'm reading as the person _writing_ it and the person _reading_ it (hope that makes some kinda sense).

Wow, that was not as short as I hoped XD


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